Supporting Tushetian Shepeherds to Improve Livestock Tending Practices
1 March, 2012
On February 18-24, in the framework of the Georgia Carnivore Conservation
Project, Tushetian shepherds and farmers on the winter pastures of the
Vashlovani National Park were given trainings on issues relating to tending
livestock. The trainings were held by members of the Kakheti Regional
Association of Veterinarians under the coordination of the Center for Management
of Veterinarians’ Associations and were directly monitored by the head of the
group for response to conflict between humans and carnivores created in the
framework of the Carnivore Conservation Project.
The training course was taken by 33 representatives of the family farms on
the Vashlovani protected area, as a result of which the livestock owners and
shepherds received additional information about tending and treatment of
livestock and about the diseases of domestic animals that are common in Georgia.
The training participants were given auxiliary materials which had been
prepared by qualified veterinarians and will serve as a manual.
The training course, which was planned based on the needs of the farmers
interviewed on summer pastures, is part of one of the components of the Georgia
Carnivore Conservation Project – mitigation of conflict between humans and
carnivores in Eastern Georgia, and aims at decreasing the economic damage caused
by livestock diseases and, in this way, making farmers’ attitudes towards large
carnivores more tolerant, which implies farmers’ help in protecting and
conserving them.
According to a study conducted in 2010 on the Vashlovani protected area and
its surroundings in the framework of the Georgia Carnivore Conservation Project,
the main causes of livestock loss named by shepherds are carnivore attacks
and different contagious diseases. It should be noted that there is not a single
veterinary clinic in the Dedoplistskaro District, which makes it difficult to
set an accurate diagnosis for and treat infected livestock. In addition, high
quality vaccines and veterinary service are expensive, due to which livestock
owners vaccinate domestic animals with low quality, ineffective vaccines.
The information received as a result of the training held on the Vashlovani
winter pastures will enable farmers to improve the techniques of tending
livestock and to better plan the preventive measures against the spread of the
diseases, which will contribute to decreasing economic damage caused by
livestock mortality.
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