Paul Van Helden
Namaqua National Park: Anatolian Dogs for Wildlife Conservation
Woman with dog.
Dog breeding pens.
Mishke pups.
| Town/Region | Country | Categories | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namaqua National Park | South Africa | Africa, Mammals | 27 Sep 2010 |
The Anatolian dog breeding project is at an early stage. The critical issues are for the project to:
1) Successfully establish a stable breeding project which can supply dogs to neighbouring farms. It is expected that anything from 20-30 puppies can be born each year, which should be sufficient to satisfy the local market and also for some puppies to be sold at market prices to help sustain the project
2) Supply and place dogs to ensure a complete buffer zone around the park
3) create awareness amongst the farmers of the benefits of the dogs, not only for themselves but also the environmental benefits
4) ensure that dogs placed are well cared for and perform as desired
5) Reduce the number of animals caught in traps and increase the numbers on surrounding farms . There would be less need to lethally and indiscriminately trap wildlife.
In addition, income to farmers, their families and the area will increase, reducing the poverty of the area. From a conservation perspective, small mammals on private land have an improved chance of survival. This is good for the genetics of the park wildlife (the park will not be an island).
Finally, fewer small mammals entering and leaving the park will be killed by traps and overall the succulent karoo biodiversity hotspot benefits. There is a growing demand for the Anatolian dogs since farmers from other arid region districts such as Richtersveld and Augrabies have shown an interest in buying the dogs. The project can also further expand by including farmers from the whole of the Northern Cape and elsewhere.
For further information contact pvh@sun.ac.za