Resumen

ZAMBRA, Noelia; PIAGGIO, José  y  UNGERFELD, Rodolfo. CHARACTERISTICS OF SHEEP FARMS AND LIVESTOCK PRACTICES THAT INFLUENCE SHEEP PREDATION IN URUGUAYCARACTERÍSTICAS DE LAS EXPLOTACIONES OVINAS Y LAS PRÁCTICAS GANADERAS QUE INFLUYEN EN LA DEPREDACIÓN OVINA EN URUGUAY. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2022, vol.29, n.1, pp.569-569.  Epub 17-Dic-2021. ISSN 0327-9383.

Animal predation is a main problem in sheep production with an important impact on animal production. Factors such as the size of the herd, animals location, and decisions on livestock practices influence the probability of predator attacks. The aim was to determine the characteristic of the sheep farms and factors related with the sheep husbandry associated with the risk of predation, according to the perception of Uruguayan sheep farmers. A virtual structured survey with 30 closed questions was applied to 91 sheep farmers. The survey provided information about social aspects of farmers surveyed, farm characterization, management of the animals, the occurrance of attacks by predators and the predator species. More than 85% of the farmers reported predator attacks, but attacks were 8.3 times less when the farms had electric fences in all paddocks. The proportion of predation was greater in the northern region of the country, and lower when the paddock was visited more than once per day. In general, attacks from pampas foxes and free-ranging dogs had an inverse relationship. The principal predator species reported as responsible for sheep attacks were the southern caracaras, pampas foxes, free-ranging dogs and wild boars. We consider that there may be a probable spatial and temporal avoidance by the pampas fox when free-ranging dogs are present. The high impact of occurrence of predators’ attacks indicates the need and the importance of collecting more information and developing management programs that can help to mitigate human-livestock predators conflict.

Palabras clave : Carnivora; comportamiento; depredación de ganado; pérdidas ovinas; ungulados.