African Canines in Conservation Conference

The Endangered Wildlife trust and partners are excited to reveal that we are planning our first African Canines in Conservation Conference for March 2025. The event will be hosted at the EWT’s conservation campus in Midrand (Gauteng) and will have a predominant focus on the use of dogs for conservation research projects, and all the other aspects associated with it. There will also be one session aimed at other applications for scent detection dogs, that will allow for speakers outside of the conservation field. The preliminary dates for the conference are 18 and 19 March, where the aim of the conference is to bring around 100 people from different backgrounds together to share experiences and knowledge, and to allow for networking and establish collaboration opportunities.

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UPDATED PROGRAMME

We are pleased to announce our keynote speakers for the event:

Full event programme at bottom of page

Kayla Fratt

Kayla Fratt is the co-founder of K9 Conservationists, a non-profit organization in the United States, and the host of a podcast by the same name. The organization aims to unite highly trained conservation detection dog teams with researchers to collect scientific data and to provide mentorship, education, and foster collaboration among scientists, novice handlers, and local communities. Kayla is currently a PhD student and NSF-GRFP Fellow at Oregon State University in Taal Levi’s lab. Her research there focuses on the combination of scat detection dogs and genetic methods to answer questions regarding diet and movement of sea wolves in southeast Alaska and the recolonization of pumas in El Salvador. In the past, Kayla has also worked in Kenya with cheetah scat detection dog teams and searched for jaguar and other felid scat in Guatemala. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and is committed to methods maximizes the welfare and efficacy of working dogs.

Esther Matthew

Esther completed her M.Sc. in Environmental Science. As part of her study that started in 2014, she successfully raised and trained a scent detection dog to locate Giant African Bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus) underground. Subsequently, she joined the EWT team and as the Specialist Conservation Officer has been using dogs to located elusive and Endangered species focusing on in situ conservation. She obtained national and international qualifications, and due to her work and research with detection dogs, Esther became a National Geographic Society Explorer. Focal species that she has worked on include the Critically Endangered Riverine Rabbit and De Winton’s Golden mole, as well as three of South Africa’s most rare tortoise species. Furthermore, she was also part of the EWT team who trained the first three succulent plant detection dogs for anti-poaching purposes, which already resulted in a few successful operations.

Louise Wilson

With over 20 years of international experience, Louise Wilson is a trailblazer for conservation detection dogs in the UK. As Managing Director of Conservation K9 Consultancy, she has trained canines to detect everything from cheetahs and hedgehogs, to water voles and invasive beetles. At the conference, she’ll share her expertise in ethical, efficient, and non-invasive wildlife surveys, drawing from her groundbreaking work across the globe.

Will Powell

Will Powell, CEO of KURU – the Conservation Dog, brings nearly 30 years of expertise in training over 3,500 dogs for humanitarian and conservation missions. Since 2014, his programs in seven African countries have fought wildlife trafficking, reduced poaching, and safeguarded endangered species. At the conference, he’ll discuss the tangible impact of canine units in protecting Africa’s wildlife, and the lessons he has learned along the way.

We are already excited about the experience and knowledge these speakers will bring to the event and will be announcing the other keynote speakers over the next few months.

It is important to note that participants living in Africa will get reduced fees (compared to international participants), and selected speakers of the event will also get discount. We also hope to have a few scholarships available for which participants can apply. We aim to make the event hybrid, where virtual participants can listen into talks, however in-person attendees will benefit through additional live demonstrations and panel discussions. So watch this space for more information and we hope to see many of you at the event in March!

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Conservation Canines in their twilight years

Wildlife crime continues to plague South Africa and the need for diverse approaches to effectively combat these crimes is clear. Rhino poaching (being the illegal killing of rhino and the harvesting of their horn) has been particularly devasting, with thousands of rhinos having been brutally killed in South Africa. A recent assessment of various antipoaching interventions in the Greater Kruger area highlights this, as well as the resources and capacity needed to effectively respond to syndicated wildlife crime.

This assessment considered eleven anti-poaching interventions, including the value and impact of both detection and tracking dogs. Detection dogs are placed at points of entry and exist in a certain area and are specifically trained to sniff out specimens like rhino horn or arms and ammunition. Tracking dogs are specifically trained to follow scent trails and are used to track poachers. This assessment found that “tracking dogs were very successful at performing their function of following tracks and leading to significant arrests.”

Puk was tracking dog, working in this landscape until his retirement last year. Working with his handler Morris, Puk had an incredible career in anti-poaching. After years of hard (but important) work, Puk is now enjoying the benefits of retirement. Adopted last year by Paul and Barbara Dore, Puk is settling into retirement as a pampered pet and recently had his first beach holiday!

Photo credit: Ashleigh Dore

Watching Puk transition from working dog to pet has been wonderful, we are very grateful to Paul and Barbara for opening their home and hearts to him and giving him the retirement he deserves!

If you would like more information on how you can support conservation canines or give a home to another one of our retired conservation canines, please contact Shadi at shadih@ewt.org.za.

You can access the report detailing the assessment here.

For more information on Puk and Morris watch this video.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Livestock Guardian Dogs protect farmed animals from predation.

In South Africa, poor livestock husbandry practices negatively impact livestock farmers through predation and threatened carnivores through persecution.

In 2008, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) created a Livestock Guardian Dog Project in its Carnivore Conservation Programme (CCP) to provide non-lethal solutions to livestock farmers who had experienced unsustainable losses due to predation by free roaming carnivores. This includes Jackals, Caracals, Cheetah, African Wild Dogs, Leopards and other small carnivores.

Through the project, guarding dogs are placed with livestock as puppies and grow up with the herd. This enables them to bond with the herd animals and thus protect them from carnivores that may try to predate on them. The provision of guardian dogs to farmers ultimately reduces and prevents the retaliatory killing of carnivores.

To achieve the goal of non-lethal intervention, we work together with farmers to, as far as possible, integrate this conflict mitigation methods with their farming practices.

Working with local farmers it had become clear that many lack the skills, knowledge or capacity to employ best-practice livestock husbandry methods to protect their livestock from naturally occurring large carnivores. Instead, they use lethal mitigation methods, such as snaring, shooting, gin-trapping, poisoning and hunting predators with dogs. Most lethal methods used are non-specific which means that any number of other species, and not the target species, are killed. This includes Critically Endangered White-backed Vultures, Hooded Vultures and other wildlife, such as Jackal, Caracal, Cheetah, Leopard and African Wild Dogs.

Since the inception of the project by the EWT in 2008, it became clear that among the farming practices implemented, and which increasingly put livestock at risk of predation, included letting calves that are too young into the fields with the rest of the herd, not kraaling livestock at night and even using inadequate basic livestock husbandry practices.

We have, therefore, been educating farmers and communities about the ecological and economic benefits of co-existing with carnivores. Through workshops hosted by the CCP, communities and farmers are informed about the impacts of killing key species, such as Leopard and Cheetah, and how the use of non-lethal mitigation methods prevent conflict. In the case of livestock husbandry, we reach out to our network of vets and animal technicians to advise and teach farmers how to take care of their livestock.

In order to receive a Livestock Guardian Dog, a farmer must be able to show that unsustainable losses have been suffered and that there is potential conflict between the farmer and wild species predating on his or her livestock.

Our field staff will then conduct a site visit to confirm predation issues and assess the suitability of the farm to host a guardian dog to ensure that the dog’s welfare is prioritised. Once the farmer enters into an agreement with the EWT, a Livestock Guardian Dog is provided to protect his or her animals for 12 months. Within this time, we will, on a monthly basis, provide the farmer with high quality dog food, ensure the dog is treated for both ectoparasites and endoparasites. Any veterinary needs are taken care of by the EWT, at no cost to the farmer.

A field officer visits the guardian dog once a month to check on its well-being and its effectiveness. This provides us with an opportunity to address any issues that may have arisen during the month. Once the farmer and the field officer are happy that the dog is effectively doing its job and that it is well taken care of, the EWT signs the dog over to the farmer and it becomes his or her responsibility.

Although the Livestock Guardian Dog is then no longer our responsibility, farmers are encouraged to continue keeping contact with us for any help regarding any conflict-related issues that may arise, such as conflict between the dog and carnivores. Additional free support is provided to communities to ensure that their dogs are spayed and vaccinated. This reduces the spread of disease and stops the overpopulation of dogs.

Since the inception of the Livestock Guardian Dog project, we have placed 241 guard dogs with over 200 commercial and community farms throughout South Africa, dramatically reducing the level of predation and human-wildlife conflict. The dogs placed as puppies on farms are mostly Anatolian Shepherds and Maluti Shepherds.More than Eighty percent of dogs placed develop into successful Livestock Guardian Dogs. These dogs have reduced predation on farms by up to 90 percent in most cases. This makes this project the most successful mitigation method that we have to deal with livestock predation.

We have dogs in the fight against poaching

WE HAVE DOGS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST POACHING

DR ANDREW TAYLOR, EWT WILDLIFE IN TRADE PROGRAMME MANAGER

dog and handler

EWT Conservation K9 Bekah and handler Precious

The Endangered Wildlife Trust supports anti-poaching initiatives in game reserves using tracking and detection dogs known as conservation K9s. A project generously funded by the IUCN Save Our Species Rapid Action Grant and the European Union has enabled us to deploy six new dogs over the past year into priority reserves in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. Although the grant period has ended, the EWT continues to support the reserves to ensure continuity and sustainability of the use of dogs to support their rangers, and our Conservation K9 Project Coordinator, Shadi Henrico, recently visited four of the dogs posted in Limpopo.

Ruger, a male Dutch Shepherd, and Bekah, a female Belgian Malinois sponsored by Global Conservation Force, were deployed to a big five reserve in June 2022. As tracking dogs, Ruger and Bekah walk daily patrols along the fence line with their handler Precious, sniffing out evidence of illegal infiltrations into the reserve that may be related to poaching activity. If someone has entered the reserve through the fence, these dogs will detect their scent and can follow the route they took, allowing Precious to find the trespasser and uncover the intentions behind their incursion.

dog and handler

EWT Conservation K9 Gold and handler Clifford

Gold, a certified detection dog, was deployed to another big five reserve in August 2022, where he is finding his feet and bonding with his newly qualified handler Clifford. Clifford was trained at Genesis K9 with support from the IUCN SOS and the EU, and works with Gold to screen vehicles at entrance gates and other locations to ensure that no contraband is smuggled into or out of the reserve. Gold’s sharp nose can detect firearms, ammunition, rhino horn, elephant ivory, pangolin scales, and lion bones and will immediately alert Clifford if he catches a suspicious whiff so that they can investigate further.

EWT Conservation K9 Juice and handler Kaizer searching vehicles

Juice, a large male Malinois, has been deployed to a reserve in the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) adjacent to Kruger National Park, where he is screening vehicles entering and leaving the reserve. He has been partnered with Kaizer, an experienced dog handler and will be working hard to catch wildlife traffickers. Like Gold, Juice will focus on detecting firearms, ammunition, and threatened wildlife species.

This project is supported by the IUCN Save Our Species Rapid Action Grant, co-funded by the European Union, Global Conservation Force, and Genesis K9.

Using conservation canines to save our species from illegal wildlife trade

USING CONSERVATION CANINES TO SAVE OUR SPECIES FROM THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

Andrew Taylor, Wildlife in Trade Programme Manager, Endangered Wildlife Trust, andrewt@ewt.org.zaIllegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity worldwide, and an ongoing poaching surge places particular strain on some of South Africa’s most threatened species. With funding from IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife Initiative and the European Union, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) aims to reduce IWT by reducing the poaching of five iconic mammals. White and Black Rhinos, listed as Near Threatened and Critically Endangered respectively on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, are both experiencing population declines due to illegal harvesting. Temminck’s Pangolin, listed as Vulnerable, is being mercilessly targeted by poachers for local and international markets and given its rare status and slow rates of reproduction, they are almost certainly experiencing population declines, although we do not have accurate population data. The African Savannah Elephant, now listed as Endangered, is not currently under threat from poaching in South Africa but has been hugely impacted across the continent, making South African populations more important to secure. Finally, the African Lion, listed as Vulnerable, is coming under increased threat from IWT for its claws and teeth and needs protection from poachers before it’s too late.

A combination of approaches is needed to reduce poaching, each focusing on different links in the wildlife trade chain. When implemented in combination with other measures, one effective method is the use of highly trained conservation canines. These dogs are trained to detect specific wildlife products and, when working at reserve gates and other strategic locations, provide a quick and reliable method of screening vehicles entering for concealed firearms and ammunition and vehicles leaving for wildlife contraband. These dogs thus prevent poachers from using vehicles to carry their weapons into reserves or transport animal parts out. Tracking dogs provide a mechanism to locate incursion entry and exit points along reserve boundaries, track poachers inside reserves, and, if they do not catch up with poachers, can identify routes taken, providing critical data for predicting future poacher movements.

Under this grant, the EWT will support seven reserves threatened by poaching by providing them with detection or tracking dogs, training for dog handlers, as well as ongoing support for dog-handler teams. Three reserves will receive detection dogs, two will receive tracking dogs, and two, which already have dogs, will receive support for their current dogs and handlers. All seven reserves have rhinos and some of the other threatened species mentioned above, and all have experienced revenue losses because of tourist travel bans resulting from COVID-19. This has severely limited their ability to generate sufficient income to maintain functioning conservation canine units to support their anti-poaching defence.

So far, we have three dogs and one new handler undergoing initial training which will be certified before deployment. We are grateful to IUCN Save Our Species and the European Union for the generous support in our fight to protect our threatened species against poaching.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union through IUCN Save Our Species. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN or the European Union.