The Susiaita Project – Looking at Wolves from Both Sides of the Fence
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The SusiAita project – looking at wolves from both sides of the fence 1 May – 31 December 2016 Activity report on the methods of protecting farm and production animals Author: Antti Rinne Table of contents 1. Implemented by .................................................................................................................. 3 2. Information on the project ................................................................................................... 3 3. Project summary ................................................................................................................. 4 4. Report ................................................................................................................................. 6 4.1 Implementation ............................................................................................................. 6 4.1.1 Measures ............................................................................................................... 6 4.1.2 Schedule ................................................................................................................ 7 4.1.3 Resources .............................................................................................................. 8 4.1.4 Project events ........................................................................................................ 8 4.1.5 Costs and funding ................................................................................................ 17 4.2 Partners ...................................................................................................................... 17 4.3 Results and effects ..................................................................................................... 17 5. Methods for protecting farm and production animals ........................................................ 19 5.1 Methods for protecting production animals ................................................................. 19 5.2 Means of protecting dogs from large carnivores ......................................................... 31 6. Experiences collected by the project on the methods for protecting farm and production animals .................................................................................................................................... 35 7. Small working groups ........................................................................................................ 42 8. Feedback on the project ................................................................................................... 45 9. Provision of information .................................................................................................... 47 10. Suggestions for further measures .................................................................................. 49 2 1. Implemented by The Southwest Finland District of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Martinkatu 5 20810 Turku, Finland Business ID 1506337-0 2. Information on the project Project name: SusiAita Project number: 27219 Number of decision on granting support: 95158 Programme: Development programme for the rural areas of mainland Finland 2014–2020 Measure in the progamme: 1.2 Communications and presentations Sub-measure in the progamme: Development of communications and presentations Leader group: Ykkösakseli ry Project implementation period: 1 May 2016 – 31 March 2017 Geographical scope of the project: Local/Regional Partners: The Association for Nature Conservation in the Salo Region & the Finnish Wildlife Agency, Southwest Finland Steering committee: A steering committee was appointed for the project Composition of the steering committee: Maarit Teuri, chairperson Ykkösakseli ry Antti Rinne, secretary Coordinator of the SusiAita project Sanna Tikander The Association for Nature Conservation in the Salo Region and The Southwest Finland District of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Saija Porramo The Southwest Finland District of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Jarmo Markkanen The Association for Nature Conservation in the Salo Region Jörgen Hermansson The Finnish Wildlife Agency, Southwest Finland Kaivosoja Lauri Kaivosoja Sheep Farm Eija Hagelberg Southwest Finland Cultural Landscape Association Pekka Oksanen Kisko District Game Management Association Website of the project: http://www.sll.fi/varsinais-suomi/toiminta/susiaitahanke 3 3. Project summary The objective of the SusiAita (WolfFence) project is to set up collaboration among the stakeholders affected by the wolf problem (livestock rearers, keepers of hobby animals, conservationists, hunting/game management, rural dwellers) to plan public events and distribute neutral information based on facts. Information is provided, for example, on wolf ecology, protection of farm and production animals and hunting dogs against predators, reporting predator sightings and predator damage, how and from which authority compensation for damage can be applied for and who is eligible for compensation. The purpose is to create an operating model for a local project that uses solution-oriented methods to resolve conflicts. After the conclusion of the project, the model can be also shared with other parties. All measures in the project seek to foster collaboration among stakeholders in the new wolf territory of Salo. On a larger scale, the project seeks to ensure and reconcile the vitality of rural areas with wolf protection in the region, but refrains from taking a stand on wolf policy. The project also arranged open public events and information sessions as well as demonstration events in different locations. The location-specific events and expert speakers presented good practices and gave practical advice. The speakers were people who had practical experience on wolves and the protection of farm and production animals. The presentations emphasised the importance of neutral information and practical experience. The purpose was to collect as many practical experiences as possible and make them available for animal keepers in this final report and as YouTube video summaries, among other things. The project also produced and published an instruction document on actions to take in case of predator damage. The project presented animal keepers with several methods of preventing predator damage. The methods offer theoretical knowledge and describe user experiences. The project participants also investigated and tested how the methods actually work. The most important participants were the speakers at the events, who gave concrete examples and described their experiences. This enabled the audience to gain a factual understanding of how well the methods work. A general conclusion on the methods of preventing predator damage is that all methods have their pros and cons, and none of them can be considered a one-size-fits-all solution. Each farm is unique, which means that every animal keeper must investigate the suitability of the methods for their particular circumstances. A lot of up-to-date information on wolves and related topics was distributed at the events. The speakers were representatives of the Natural Resources Institute of Finland, the Finnish Wildlife Agency and other organisations. The exclusion of middlemen ensured that the information was based on facts and neutral. Discussion at the events was often lively and continued in social media afterwards. Discussion between stakeholders has increased during the project, which in turn has increased understanding between them. The project coordinator participated in the social media discussions to distribute fact-based information and pieces of advice. 4 The SusiAita project successfully developed an operating model for a small-scale local project. We also received several suggested improvements for the model, which serve as the basis for further improvement. A key factor in the project was collaboration between organisations. Thanks to the collaboration, stakeholders were reached efficiently and neutrality of the operations could be guaranteed. The framework of topics worked well and the audience was generally very satisfied with them. The approach that emphasised local matters and concrete actions was highly praised and the events were popular, since their topic was the local conditions. Although the stakeholders were heard actively before and during the project, even more interaction would have been better. If a wide range of stakeholders were heard even more frequently, we would gain a better understanding of the hopes and needs of the local population, which is of paramount importance when trying to foster cooperation. A lot of time must be reserved for questions and discussion in each event. In addition, the participants must be able to get advice and information on topics associated with the project even after the event. The measures and results of the project in numbers: • News stories, radio interviews, TV interviews: 42 • Invitations to events and speakers’ presentations: 35 • Youtube video summaries: 8, total number of views: 1,400 (by 30 Jan 2017) • Instructions on actions to take in case of predator damage (in Finnish and Swedish): around 800 copies distributed • Brochure and poster of the project: 100 copies distributed • Final report on the protection methods of farm and production animals • Events/demonstrations arranged: 11 • Evening sessions, farm visits, stakeholder meetings and consultation visits: 9 • Participants in the events: 440 people • 18 predator