Livestock Vaccination
Document Actions
The Snow Leopard Trust’s livestock vaccination program helps people in snow leopard areas keep their herds of sheep and goats healthy in exchange for the herders’ commitment to protect the snow leopard.
The Snow Leopard Trust has partnered with villagers in snow leopard
areas to create a livestock vaccination program that will help keep
their herds of sheep and goats healthy. As part of the program the
herders commit to protecting the snow leopard.
The
Snow Leopard Trust and its local partner organizations help
herders in northern Pakistan obtain basic livestock vaccines, which
were previously unavailable and unaffordable in this remote rural
area. As part of the project, the participating communities agree
not to kill snow leopards or their prey species. Those
two actions may seem unrelated at first. But in fact, the program
grew
out of an awareness that common, preventable animal diseases are a much
greater threat to herds than are predators like the snow leopard.
A major concern that had to be addressed as the vaccination program was developed was that as fewer livestock were lost to disease, herd sizes in participating villages would grow. This would create even more grazing competition for the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. To prevent this problem, participants also promise to limit the size of their herds. The Trust helps the herders sell any livestock beyond this herd limit at local markets.
Quick Links:
The livestock vaccination program saves snow leopards by reducing
human-snow leopard conflicts. When herders aren't losing so many of
their animals to disease, they are better able to absorb occasional
losses to predators and are less likely to kill snow leopards in
retaliation.
The program is also designed to reduce conflicts by making snow leopard predation on domestic livestock less likely in the first place. This is done in two ways:
1. Villagers agree to limit the size of their herds.
This leaves more grass for wild sheep and goats to eat. When wild prey is abundant and healthy, snow leopards are less likely to turn to domestic livestock for food.
In addition, when livestock herds are smaller, the pastures nearby the village can support them. People don't have to take their sheep and goats so high into the mountains to find food, so they are less likely to come in contact with snow leopards at all.
2. Fodder preservation workshops teach participants in the vaccination program how to store hay to feed their animals over the winter.
Villagers who attend the workshops agree to wait a few weeks longer in the spring before taking their herds to graze in mountain pastures, feeding their livestock on stored fodder instead of the fragile new shoots of wild grasses.
Again, this leaves more food for the snow leopard's wild prey, and keeps domestic livestock away from snow leopards--at a time of year when young goats and sheep are especially vulnerable.
The livestock vaccination program helps families by increasing the survival and productivity of their herds, and thereby increasing household income. Families can use this money for school fees, better nutrition, health care, and other needs.
In the Chitral region of northern Pakistan where the livestock vaccination program is taking place, a herder's annual income averages $200-430 (US). In this area, a goat is worth $28-78 (US), and a sheep $9-26 (US). In other words, loss of an animal to disease represents a real financial hardship for herding families.
When their animals are protected against common livestock diseases, families enjoy higher, more stable incomes, without the threat of catastrophic losses to illness. Healthier vaccinated animals also produce more and better-quality meat and wool, which herders can then sell at a higher price.
The requirement that participants in the vaccination program limit the size of their herds ends up helping families earn more. Smaller but healthier herds produce more milk and meat than larger undernourished herds using limited pasture areas. So by selling their extra livestock, families protect the environment, improve the productivity of their herds, and earn higher incomes.
The fodder preservation workshops and other aspects of the vaccination program that make snow leopard predation on domestic animals less likely also contribute to higher, more stable incomes for herding families.
The livestock vaccination program protects animals against common livestock diseases such as anthrax, hoof and mouth disease, and pneumonia.
In the past, such vaccines were not available to herders in the area
because transportation systems did not exist to bring the vaccines to
this remote region. Moreover, not all families could afford the
vaccines, and protection of the herd requires that all animals be
vaccinated. So even if the vaccines had been available, they wouldn't
have been effective if only a few families in the village could
purchase them.
The Trust helped solve these problems by forging a partnership with the Livestock Department of Pakistan to deliver and distribute vaccines to participating villages. In addition, the Trust is initially subsidizing the vaccines, which cost 50 cents (US) per animal, or about $750 (US) per year for all the livestock in the pilot village of Kuju. The program will become self-sustaining after 4 years with the subsidy phased out as villagers are able to purchase their own vaccines with the money from selling their extra livestock at local markets.
Many animal diseases can be transmitted back and forth between domestic livestock and their wild relatives. No studies have been done to see whether this is occurring in northern Pakistan, but it is very common in many parts of the world. Therefore, scientists believe that vaccinating domestic livestock in Kuju could help reduce disease among the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. This could prove to be another way in which the livestock vaccination program will help the snow leopard.
The livestock vaccination program grew out of conversations with villagers in northern Pakistan. They knew livestock diseases were affecting their herds, but few if any records were kept and there was little they felt they could do to protect their animals. Predators were perceived as a bigger problem by the community. To find out more, the Trust set up a study with local villagers that tracked livestock deaths in the area over the course of 3 years.
It turned out that about 10 animals were dying of disease for every one that was killed by a predator. Villagers said they would be willing to tolerate losses to snow leopards if they could reduce losses to disease.
Kuju, a village of about 2,000 people, was selected as the pilot site for the project. During the program's first year, 2003, all 1,452 of the village's livestock were vaccinated against anthrax. Additional vaccines and workshops on fodder preservation and other topics were added in subsequent years.
The Trust hopes to expand the livestock vaccination program to the nearby village of Parsan in 2005.
The
Snow Leopard Trust and its local partner organizations help
herders in northern Pakistan obtain basic livestock vaccines, which
were previously unavailable and unaffordable in this remote rural
area. As part of the project, the participating communities agree
not to kill snow leopards or their prey species. Those
two actions may seem unrelated at first. But in fact, the program
grew
out of an awareness that common, preventable animal diseases are a much
greater threat to herds than are predators like the snow leopard.A major concern that had to be addressed as the vaccination program was developed was that as fewer livestock were lost to disease, herd sizes in participating villages would grow. This would create even more grazing competition for the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. To prevent this problem, participants also promise to limit the size of their herds. The Trust helps the herders sell any livestock beyond this herd limit at local markets.
Quick Links:
- How the livestock vaccination program saves snow leopards
- How the livestock vaccination program helps families
- Vaccines and livestock diseases
- Livestock vaccination in Pakistan
How the livestock vaccination program saves snow leopards
The livestock vaccination program saves snow leopards by reducing
human-snow leopard conflicts. When herders aren't losing so many of
their animals to disease, they are better able to absorb occasional
losses to predators and are less likely to kill snow leopards in
retaliation.The program is also designed to reduce conflicts by making snow leopard predation on domestic livestock less likely in the first place. This is done in two ways:
1. Villagers agree to limit the size of their herds.
This leaves more grass for wild sheep and goats to eat. When wild prey is abundant and healthy, snow leopards are less likely to turn to domestic livestock for food.
In addition, when livestock herds are smaller, the pastures nearby the village can support them. People don't have to take their sheep and goats so high into the mountains to find food, so they are less likely to come in contact with snow leopards at all.
2. Fodder preservation workshops teach participants in the vaccination program how to store hay to feed their animals over the winter.
Villagers who attend the workshops agree to wait a few weeks longer in the spring before taking their herds to graze in mountain pastures, feeding their livestock on stored fodder instead of the fragile new shoots of wild grasses.
Again, this leaves more food for the snow leopard's wild prey, and keeps domestic livestock away from snow leopards--at a time of year when young goats and sheep are especially vulnerable.
How the livestock vaccination program helps families
The livestock vaccination program helps families by increasing the survival and productivity of their herds, and thereby increasing household income. Families can use this money for school fees, better nutrition, health care, and other needs.
In the Chitral region of northern Pakistan where the livestock vaccination program is taking place, a herder's annual income averages $200-430 (US). In this area, a goat is worth $28-78 (US), and a sheep $9-26 (US). In other words, loss of an animal to disease represents a real financial hardship for herding families.
When their animals are protected against common livestock diseases, families enjoy higher, more stable incomes, without the threat of catastrophic losses to illness. Healthier vaccinated animals also produce more and better-quality meat and wool, which herders can then sell at a higher price.
The requirement that participants in the vaccination program limit the size of their herds ends up helping families earn more. Smaller but healthier herds produce more milk and meat than larger undernourished herds using limited pasture areas. So by selling their extra livestock, families protect the environment, improve the productivity of their herds, and earn higher incomes.
The fodder preservation workshops and other aspects of the vaccination program that make snow leopard predation on domestic animals less likely also contribute to higher, more stable incomes for herding families.
Vaccines and livestock diseases
The livestock vaccination program protects animals against common livestock diseases such as anthrax, hoof and mouth disease, and pneumonia.
In the past, such vaccines were not available to herders in the area
because transportation systems did not exist to bring the vaccines to
this remote region. Moreover, not all families could afford the
vaccines, and protection of the herd requires that all animals be
vaccinated. So even if the vaccines had been available, they wouldn't
have been effective if only a few families in the village could
purchase them.The Trust helped solve these problems by forging a partnership with the Livestock Department of Pakistan to deliver and distribute vaccines to participating villages. In addition, the Trust is initially subsidizing the vaccines, which cost 50 cents (US) per animal, or about $750 (US) per year for all the livestock in the pilot village of Kuju. The program will become self-sustaining after 4 years with the subsidy phased out as villagers are able to purchase their own vaccines with the money from selling their extra livestock at local markets.
Many animal diseases can be transmitted back and forth between domestic livestock and their wild relatives. No studies have been done to see whether this is occurring in northern Pakistan, but it is very common in many parts of the world. Therefore, scientists believe that vaccinating domestic livestock in Kuju could help reduce disease among the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. This could prove to be another way in which the livestock vaccination program will help the snow leopard.
Livestock vaccination in Pakistan
The livestock vaccination program grew out of conversations with villagers in northern Pakistan. They knew livestock diseases were affecting their herds, but few if any records were kept and there was little they felt they could do to protect their animals. Predators were perceived as a bigger problem by the community. To find out more, the Trust set up a study with local villagers that tracked livestock deaths in the area over the course of 3 years.
It turned out that about 10 animals were dying of disease for every one that was killed by a predator. Villagers said they would be willing to tolerate losses to snow leopards if they could reduce losses to disease.
Kuju, a village of about 2,000 people, was selected as the pilot site for the project. During the program's first year, 2003, all 1,452 of the village's livestock were vaccinated against anthrax. Additional vaccines and workshops on fodder preservation and other topics were added in subsequent years.
The Trust hopes to expand the livestock vaccination program to the nearby village of Parsan in 2005.