Karoo Farmer Gives Lambs ‘Teeth' Against Predators

In a desperate attempt to limit livestock losses due to predation, Karoo farmer Eddie Steenkamp devised a plan to protect his livestock, and has achieved remarkable success. Jeandré van der Walt visited him to find out more.

- Jeandré van der

Eddie Steenkamp raises White Dorper sheep on two farms in the Western Cape, Doornboomsfontein near Beaufort West and Karbonaatjieskraal near Hopefield. Faced with ongoing predation by jackal and caracal, he has spent years designing and perfecting protective collars for his animals.

“I began in 1994 by fitting strips of used inner tube around the lambs’ necks, and later progressed to a ‘bell’ made out of a small steel tin,” he recalls.

Today, he uses two separate devices in tandem, and these, along with a management plan, have dramatically reduced predation by caracal and jackal.

Steenkamp stresses that a predation strategy must be alternated frequently to outwit predators.

“My system is based on the suspicious nature of predators, as well as their ability to learn new behavioural patterns very quickly through experience and observation. They have superbly developed senses of sight, smell and hearing,” he says.

THE COLLAR SYSTEM

Steenkamp’s primary device is a protective and deterrent ‘nail collar’ comprising an adjustable webbing strap fitted with a lightweight tin containing a ball, which functions as a bell. The strap is also equipped with scent blocks, a plastic collar band that contains two yellow reflectors, and eight sharp nails. According to Steenkamp, this collar should be applied to a lamb within the first three weeks after birth.

“The sound, smell and reflectors deter prospective predators from attacking the lambs, as the predator’s senses (hearing, smell and sight) get the message that these lambs are not normal prey,” he explains.