Limiting depredation by African carnivores: the role of livestock husbandry

Ogada and colleagues conducted a controlled comparison of husbandry practices on Laikipia ranches in Kenya to identify which measures reduce predation by lions, leopards, hyenas, and cheetahs. By correlating depredation rates with herding behaviour, enclosure quality, and the presence of guarding people and dogs, they found that simple husbandry improvements, attentive herders, well-built thorn or wire bomas, and the presence of domestic dogs, sharply lowered losses. Predators differed in how they breached defences, so mitigation needed tailoring by species. The study became a foundational reference showing that husbandry, rather than lethal control, is often the most effective and conservation-compatible response to depredation.