Interesting article John. I worked on and off with alternative methods to
reduce coyote predation on livestock for 30+ years and have seen both
success and failure with the use of Llamas, Great Pyrenees, those weird
'rasta' dogs, even 'tame' coyotes raised with the sheep. If all livestock
growers were as dedicated as the folks in this article, there are lots of
programs which would work. The trouble is, they are an exception in the
extreme.

The economic incentive is a new twist and I have not, as yet, seen it here
in Colorado in so far as 'predator friendly' beef is concerned. There is,
however, a large market for the so-called 'organic' beef and other meat
(I've often wonder what 'inorganic' meat was?). There are at least two
large, corporate, ranches in Colorado which specialize in 'free range,'
chemical free meat and they seem to do fine. This is a new aspect which
might be interesting.

BTW, one of the 'benefits' of introduced wolves in Yellowstone has been a
reduction by about half of the coyote population. So far there is
conflicting evidence about wolf predation on livestock, but most reports
seem to think it is insignificant. I guess that is in the eye of the
beholder. At any rate there is some speculation that wolf introduction may,
in fact, *reduce* livestock predation because wolves tend to focus on larger
animals such as full grown elk and deer rather than young livestock. Also
'problem' wolves, i.e. those who actually kill livestock, seem to be easier
to identify and remove than coyotes.

I've always rather liked coyotes. You have to admire an animal whose range
and densities have both increased despite a century of poisoning, shooting,
burning, and an overall attempt to eradicate them. I live in the burbs of
Denver and can go out and find coyote tracks anytime after a snow storm.

Steven

>From: John Foster <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: "Discussion forum for environmental ethics."
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Don't kill coyote
>Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 10:29:17 -0800
>
>Predator friendly beef fetches a premium. Paying for conservation by
>consuming...interesting.
>
>Interesting practice which has been around and gaining is to use Llamas to
>protect livestock from predators. Since Coyotes are part of the 'sys' we
>need, they can be beneficial to farmers and ranchers too.
>
>
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0102/p15s01-sten.html
>
>Sci/Tech > Environment
>from the January 02, 2004 edition
>
>Don't kill the coyote, just confuse him a little
>
>By Tim King | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
>
>Traps. Fences. Poison. Ranchers have tried everything to keep predators
>from
>their livestock. But guard llamas? At Thirteen Mile Ranch near Belgrade,
>Mont., llamas have kept watch over the sheep for a decade. The result: No
>losses from coyotes - the bane of sheep ranchers.
>
>"Our llamas have developed some kind of an understanding with a local and
>fairly stable coyote pack," says Becky Weed, who runs the ranch with her
>partner, David Tyler. "They know the ropes, and we know the ropes, and I
>think they understand that we don't bother them. We like to have them
>around
>because they hunt gophers."
>
>Increasingly, ranchers in the US and abroad are turning to such natural
>methods - from aggressive donkeys to strategic herd movement - to safeguard
>livestock. Those methods mean ranchers seldom have to kill predators. True,
>the predators they save aren't particularly endangered. And the products
>they market as "predator friendly" sometimes fetch a premium. But the
>impetus behind the wild-farming movement seems to run deeper than that. Its
>message: Ranchers, livestock, and large predators can coexist.
>
>"People farm with the wild because they deeply care about the land as their
>home," says Dan Imhoff, author of a new book, "Farming With the Wild." "It
>has economic value, but it also taps into life's biggest questions. Why are
>we here? What is our place in the community of all species?"
>
>Consider Will Holder, an Arizona rancher whose friends call him the "Cattle
>Whisperer." "I'm with my cattle every day," he says. "If you spend enough
>time with them, you can tell by the way they are acting that a lion has
>moved into the area."
>
>When cattle signal that a lion or a wolf is near, Mr. Holder moves cattle.
>It sounds simple, he says, but compared with the conventional approach to
>ranching, day herding represents a radical departure. "The traditional way
>of managing cattle in the West is you kind of kick them out into a pasture
>and don't look at them for about four months," says Holder. His family
>sells
>predator-friendly beef at premium prices under the Ervin's Natural Beef
>Company label in Tucson and Phoenix.
>
>But cattle left to their own devices develop deadly habits. "Predators need
>to get comfortable with a situation and feel like they are going to be
>successful," he says. "By always moving the cattle, predators [stay] off
>balance and they leave us alone."
>
>Other ranchers who raise beef for the Ervin's label use a variety of
>techniques to keep mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, and bears off balance.
>One rancher used strips of bright orange marking tape tied to a fence.
>Another uses aggressive guard donkeys to chase them away.
>
>"The reason ecolabels work is that they give producers a way to tell their
>story," says Janelle Holden of the Predator Conservation Alliance of
>Bozeman, Mont. "People won't necessarily buy a product just because it's
>predator friendly, but it does make someone unique enough to highlight
>their
>product in the market."
>
>Besides relying on guard llamas, Ms. Weed and Mr. Tyler also keep an eye on
>their sheep. To assure that coyotes aren't tempted to prey on new lambs,
>the
>Thirteen Mile Ranch lambing paddock was placed within sight of the ranch
>house. The result of their strategy is that no predators, or livestock,
>have
>been killed at their ranch or Holder's for years.
>
>Farming with the wild isn't limited to the US. In Canada, the Central
>Rockies Wolf Project works with ranchers to keep wolves and livestock
>apart.
>In Namibia, the Cheetah Conservation Fund has given hundreds of farmers
>guard dogs. The dogs keep cheetahs and leopards away from the farmers'
>goats. And in India and Nepal the Snow Leopard Conservancy has developed a
>predator-friendly livestock project in concert with Himalayan goatherds.
>
>Much like at the Holder ranch, the solutions are simple. The conservancy
>worked with farmers in six areas to develop leopard-proof corrals. The
>results have been dramatic. "With each corral we can save up to five snow
>leopards from being killed in retribution for livestock losses," says the
>Conservancy's Rodney Jackson. No livestock has been lost.
>
>The Conservancy is now working with villagers in Ladakh, India, to turn
>their new leopard stewardship into an economic plus. A village homestay
>program, www.Himalayan-homestays.com, was launched in the 2003 trekking
>season. So far, it's drawn mainly European tourists, eager to glimpse the
>rare leopards.
>
>Learning to coexist with predators also helps create an environment more
>congenial to other wild creatures. For example, by moving his cattle
>regularly, Holder says he's seen a revitalization of native grasses, which
>helps small animals. Holder and his wife, Jan, have also helped with the
>reintroduction of (endangered) Mexican wolves in the area close to their
>ranch, located in New Mexico near the border of Arizona's Gila Wilderness.
>
>"When I was growing up I hated ranching because it was just this brutal way
>of man against nature," Holder says. But "I enjoy this kind of ranching
>because it's more of an intellectual challenge."
>
>

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