Empowers Africa makes a grant to the Cheetah Conservation Foundation for their Livestock Guarding Dog Program
Empowers Africa made a grant to the Cheetah Conservation Foundation for their Livestock Guarding Dog Program, a program targeted at reducing the human-wildlife conflict in Namibia. Approximately 90 percent of all cheetahs live outside of protected areas and therefore amongst human populations. Namibia has many farmers and the loss of even one of their livestock can be a devastating for them.
The Livestock Guarding Dog Program is highly effective at reducing predation rates and thereby decreasing the incidence of shooting and trapping of cheetahs. CCF has been placing dogs since 1994 and research shows this program has been extremely successful and has reduced the death of livestock from all predators by more than 80 percent and sometime by 100 per cent. Farmers adopt a dog and CCF teaches them how to train it and does follow up site visits to ensure the dogs have proper training, medical care and are settling into their guardian role. Farmers have enthusiastically embraced the program. CCF had placed nearly 500 dogs by the end of 2013.