'Cheetah Friendly' Beef to Make Its Way to EU
Date: 07-Sep-04
Country: SOUTH AFRICA
Author: Ed Stoddard
Sparsely-populated Namibia is crucial to the survival of the cheetah, the world's fastest land mammal. It has more cheetahs than any other country, with an estimated population of 3,000 out of an African total of 12,000 to 15,000.
But Namibia ranchers have emerged as the cats' biggest active threat, shooting them on sight to protect their livestock.
Now conservationists say some farmers are learning to live with the big cats and may soon reap rich rewards as a result.
"We have some of the best farmers here in Namibia who have learned to live with predators and not kill them," said Dr. Laurie Marker, the executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
Taking a cue from "dolphin-friendly" tuna - which certifies that dolphins did not die in the nets used to catch the product - Marker's campaign will give its stamp of approval to beef exports from ranchers who employ "cheetah-friendly" strategies.
She said there were simple methods farmers could use to avoid losing livestock to wild predators.
"Most calves are lost (to cheetahs) when they are less than a month old, so we encourage farmers to keep a closer eye on their animals during the calving season," Marker told Reuters by telephone yesterday from the Namibian capital Windhoek.
She also promotes the use of guard animals on Namibian farms which, like the country itself, tend to be vast and arid.
Namibian farmers have been using Anatolian shepherds, a fierce Turkish breed of guard dog which can weigh up to 155 pounds.
Marker has also introduced local farmers to the surprising sentry abilities of donkeys, which have long been used by North American sheep farmers to protect their flocks from coyotes. Donkeys bond with cattle and sheep and protect them.
"A donkey is more than capable of taking on a cheetah or a leopard," said Marker.
Marker said it was important for livestock ranchers to protect and maintain a "prey base" - a population of wild antelope and other "cheetah food" - on their property.
Farmers who employ such practices will be certified by Marker's fund and the Conservancy Association of Namibia.
"We should have the program running by early 2005," Marker said, adding that it would aim at the "upper end" of the beef market in the European Union and South Africa.
"In the United Kingdom, for example, we are going to target the catering and conferences put on by the Zoological societies, and mainly promote prime cuts," she said.
