Guardian dogs to the rescue!

Christopher Johnson, a professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Tasmania in Australia, and Linda van Bommel, an ecologist at the University of Tasmania, write about the importance of guardian dogs to protect farmers' herds and flocks against predators.

- Christopher Johnson and Linda van Bommel

FAST FACTS

• Guardian dogs have been used for protecting livestock for millennia. 
• The use of guardian animals is an easy and cost-effective way to keep livestock and small stock safe from predators.
• Using guardian dogs instead of traps or culling to control predators is a more conservation-focused approach.

In a new survey of Australian farmers, we have found that with correct management, guardian dogs can be very effective in the long term and come at a lower cost than alternative methods. These findings should inform policy on livestock management.

AN ANCIENT PRACTICE

The use of guardian dogs for livestock protection has a long history; farmers have been using dogs to protect their livestock from predators for thousands of years.

The earliest evidence of this dates to 9,000 years ago in southern Greece. Books on agriculture written 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome made it clear that livestock guardian dogs were essential for successful farming and gave detailed instructions on their selection and management. Guardian dogs remained important throughout Europe and Asia until the 20th century. Then, their use declined because of the widespread extermination of predators and they were almost forgotten.

Now, livestock guardian dogs are making a comeback. They allow farming to coexist with wild predators, improving both biodiversity conservation and profitability of farming.

MEMBERS OF THE FLOCK 

In Australia, dingoes and foxes are major threats to livestock. Farmers usually respond to this threat by killing predators or fencing them out, but these methods are costly and don’t always work.