2024-01-07 05:00:00
In the province of Neuquén, the number of producers who are developing practices that are friendly to nature is growing.
Recently in the town of Zapala, a large amount of merino wool was sold following the market became interested in how the producers added to their production processessustainable and biodiversity-friendly practices.
There are 45 producers who belong to the Agricultural Cooperative for the Marketing of Small Producers of the Central Zone of Neuquén. They managed to obtain the international certification granted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Argentina for carrying out livestock practices that reduce damage and promote coexistence between sheep and wildlife populations. As a result of the certification, they managed to strengthen the positioning of the merino wool product in the international market, and also increase its sales price by 15%.
Ezequiel Infantino, coordinator of Certification and Value Chains of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Argentina, in dialogue with Diario RÍO NEGRO, pointed out: “This last sale of wool might confirm that obviously practices can be carried out without harm, but what is added is that Now there is beginning to be a relationship with the market that values the way these producers work. When they know the origin of the fiber and how they work to obtain it in a wildlife-friendly way, it ends up showing the rest of the country that there is a market that values this perspective and profits are not lost, they increase.”
The Patagonian region has hundreds of animals and attempts are made to protect the native wildlife. But although there are laws, sometimes they are not enough, so it is necessary to raise awareness among the population to look for alternatives that contribute to the care of nature.
For years, Concern regarding the coexistence between sheep and wildlife populations has kept producers in suspense who found themselves in conflict when they lost profits when they were attacked by a puma, fox or Andean cat. However, these animals only do it out of survival instinct, prioritizing their food.
But the concern was not only for the livestock but also for the specimens of wild animals that were lost when a producer tried to protect his herd. The killing of wildlife altered the environment.
So, researchers and experts in the area looked for methodologies that contribute to coexistence between animals and that benefit both producers and the fauna of the region. Together with producers, the Undersecretariat of Production of Neuquén, INTA and organizations such as Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Argentina implemented changes and positive results have already been obtained.
Infantino pointed out that two actions obtained the best results: the implementation of deterrent lights and the incorporation of protection dogs.
The deterrent lighting technique consists of installing a light and sometimes sound system at strategic points in the pens and animal rest areas. Lights on at night scare away carnivores.
“Animals have a natural aversion to new things. The light and noise alert them and they choose to move away,” he indicated. However, he clarified that the devices cannot remain in the same place, but rather they have to rotate and give them a rest period, so that the wildlife does not adapt to their presence, that is, to not let them get used to it. because it can lose the effect.
As for the second tool that It consists of the incorporation of livestock protection dogs, one of the most effective, Infantino explained that “this practice began a long time ago and INTA has been a pioneer.” He added that what was done from the WCS Argentina was to develop a breeding farm for livestock protection dogs, among which the Anatolian and Pyrenean Shepherd breed stands out for being the ones that have years of history protecting flocks.
“These dogs have a very high protective instinct and a very low predatory instinct, something that is the most important thing,” he pointed out and clarified: “It is not that we want the carnivores to disappear from the conservation area, but that they simply do not want to approach the cattle”.
Far from seeming like a simple methodology, the incorporation of protection dogs requires a long process of waiting and training so that good results can be obtained. “We monitor the activity of the dogs with GPC collars and also the presence of carnivores in the area by placing camera traps and monitoring the presence of these animals, such as pumas, foxes, and Andean cats. What we see is that these animals are still in the area, but they do not attack the livestock. The producer wins and so does the environment,” he highlighted.
So far, there are no records of physical contact attacks between pumas and dogs because they are animals that when they detect the presence of another carnivore tend not to approach the group. This is what ended up proving to be the most effective technique for the conservation of protected wild species.
But for the dog to defend its group it has to feel part and this is done with a process called “imprinting”. This is a process that occurs from birth to a year and a half of age of dogs. “Then they are delivered neutered to the producers and from then on what we do is accompany them in the remainder of the Imprinting process and in their first steps as mature dogs,” he commented.
The two techniques meant a big change considering that for many years they tried to confront carnivores with traps or slaughter, according to Infante. That only produced a replacement of carnivores without providing a real solution to the problem. “It is known that when a carnivore is eliminated from an area, it is most likely that another will appear in a short time taking its place and thus the problem persists or, many times, increases,” he said.
“The truth is that for producers it was and is a challenge to live with carnivores because they tend to be very affected by their attacks, especially small producers,” Infantino explained and added: “There have been cases of pumas that have killed twenty goats.” in one night and that for a small producer might be the annual profit, so we looked for a way to help them.”
Currently between lights and dogs, in Neuquén there are 60 certified producers who apply these strategies. “We delivered around 20 dogs, but we know that in the province, thanks to the impetus given by INTA and the Undersecretariat of Production, there are already almost 200 dogs.”
How producers have protection dogs
As part of the conservation project, livestock protection dogs are delivered to producers who want to obtain one at a price subsidized by the institution. But in Neuquén particularly, following seeing the success and good results of these strategies, the Undersecretary of Production joined the work and began to launch credits to accompany producers in the purchase so that everyone can access the tool.
Infantino explained that generally one dog is given per family, respecting the number of animals they have. “The work of two dogs is necessary when you have a large number of animals. But in herds in the area where there are at least 400 animals, it is only necessary to use a single protector,” he clarified.
For the delivery of dogs, the territory is evaluated because it seeks to give priority to those areas where there is more presence of fauna in conservation. “For example, there are certain areas with the presence of Andean cats with distribution in Neuquén and in those areas we have them as a priority,” he said.
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