Effectiveness of wolf (Canis lupus) culling as a measure to reduce livestock depredations

Miha Krofel and Rok Černe and Klemen Jerina (2011) Effectiveness of wolf (Canis lupus) culling as a measure to reduce livestock depredations. Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva (95). pp. 11-21. ISSN 0351-3114

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Abstract

Livestock depredations are one of the main challenges in the management of thegrey wolf (Canis lupus) and culling of the wolves is a measure often used in an attempt to reduce damages. In the present study we analyzed effects of the legal wolf culling on livestock depredations in Slovenia and made a reviewof similar studies from other regions. 51 wolves were legally culled and2,221 attacks on livestock were recorded in Slovenia in 1995-2009. Our analysis did not show any effects of the culling on the number of depredationsduring the study period. No effects were detected even when the most extreme years were compared. Our results are in agreement with those fromother studies that showed that sustainable hunting of wolves is not an effective measure to reduce live-stock depredations. Wolf removal becomes efficient only when wolves are completely exterminated or when the majority ofwolves are removed from a large area. Because depredation of small live-stock in Slovenia presents a serious problem and since wolf culling does not seem to be efficient, we recommend that more attention and resources should be focused on more effective measures.

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