By JONATHAN WORT,
AgraPoint Livestock Specialist
The pasture season is well underway for most producers. For many, predation by coyotes and, to a lesser extent, bear is their major concern while the livestock is at pasture. Good fences, guardian animals like dogs, donkeys, and/or lamas and good animal husbandry will go a long way to reducing or preventing predation problems. Check your pasture daily, pay particular attention to sick or weak or very young livestock, and consider moving them to the barn for treatment. Remember, if something dies on pasture it is going to attract the attention of wildlife; so, remove sick livestock and clean up dead stock immediately. Do not turn your pasture into a drive (or walk through) through restaurant! There is a reason we eat at MacDonald’s, or that there are line-ups at Tim’s; it fast and easy! Don’t turn your farm into a stop of choice along the wildlife highway.
How you respond to a predator kill is just as important as all the work that you do to prevent a kill. Timely identification of a problem is vital. It’s no good to figure out you have a problem days after you have had several kills; it’s just the same as not reacting to a kill. If you have a kill you need to respond and do something.
So what do you do? Every case is a little different. In Nova Scotia you should call the Nova Scotia Crop and Livestock Commission and report the kill. You are entitled to compensation for the loss of cattle, sheep, or goats that are killed by bears, fox, coyotes, ravens, crows, or birds of prey. You are required to call the commission’s coffice within 72 hours and report the kill. If it is the weekend call and leave a message. The Commission representative will want to see the dead livestock to confirm the kill. (see http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/ci/reports/Wildlife_Brochure2010.pdf)
So what do I do with the carcass? If you don’t think that you would be able to shoot the predator off the carcass, remove it from the field and put it somewhere safe until the adjuster from the crop and livestock commission arrives for his/her inspection. Then dispose of it in an appropriate manner.
If you think that you might be able to shoot the predator, cover the carcass with a tarp until mid-afternoon to prevent birds from scavenging the carcass and return in late afternoon and remove the cover from the area. This will give adequate time for your scent to evaporate before evening when you will have the best chance of seeing the predator. Remember, that although you have the right to protect your livestock, you are still responsible to follow all the applicable firearms and game regulations. Consult with your local forest technician and make sure they know what you are doing. If you make a point of getting to know your forest technicians they will often be a big help in the event of problems. If you decide to try and shoot a predator yourself make sure that you are following the regulations, have a safe shot and you know what you are shooting and what is down range. AND MOST IMPORTANT make sure that the rifle is sighted in. There is only one chance. If you miss, the next person who tries will have a much harder time. This goes for trapping also. If you fail to catch the coyote the first time it will make it much harder for the next person who tries.
Think about how you will handle a predation problem and make plans in advance. Make a point of finding out who the local trappers and hunters are. Find out which ones are good at catching coyotes – not all are. Then get to know them; they are far more likely to help you if you know them. Many trappers are looking for a place to trap during trapping season and they are happy to come in the pasture season to trap a coyote if they can hunt or trap your land in the appropriate season.
If you can’t remove the problem predator immediately, move the livestock to a safer area. This might mean putting them in the barn at night or in a night corral. Consider using some electric net portable fence and a good electric fence; this might allow you to leave the livestock on the pasture. The 48-inch portable net fence that is available makes a formidable night corral. For the value of only two or three lambs you could purchase enough of this fence to make a corral large enough for most flocks.
Every livestock producer needs to think about predation prevention and how you will respond to a kill on your farm. Make a plan in advance that outlines what you will do: who you might call to help and what you are going to do to increase the level of protection for your livestock. Many producers have found over the years that they might not have problems for a while and then for no apparent reason they have kills. I have noticed that, in many cases, the producers who have few problems have developed what I sometimes call an “integrated predator management program”. That is to say, they don’t rely on just one thing like fencing. They have several prevention activates that they employ and perhaps even at different times of the year.
Each producer needs to figure out what works best for them and develop their own program. If you need assistance with problem, please feel free to call me. Usually it is possible to find solutions.
(For more information, please contact Jonathan at (902) 896-0277, Ext 232 or j.wort@agrapoint.ca Nova Scotia Crop and Livestock Commission: 1 800 565 6371)
