WWF SAVES LIVESTOCK IN SH. 140m PROJECT AGAINST PREDATORS

 

A total of 116 improved cattle sheds have been constructed in the northern regions to save livestock from animal attacks.

Lions,leopards and hyenas are targeted under the Sh.140 million project executed with the support of WWF, a global conservation agency.

Under the project, cattle bomas of livestock keepers in Longido, Meatu and Serengeti districts have been reinforced with predator-proof wires.

This was announced at Longido at the weekend by Dr. Noah Sitati,a wildlife species expert with WWF Tanzania Country Office during a visit to the project site.

He said 76 bomas of individual livestock keepers in Longido have been reinforced with wires and 20 each in Meatu and Serengeti districts. 

The entire project which was implemented between May and December last year cost a total of Sh.141 million,being a grant from WWF.

Dr.Sitati, who is stationed at the WWF  office in Arusha,said killing of livestock by wild animals was a matter of concern in the northern regions. 

"There are cases where the animal keepers lose up to 60 goats and sheep a day", he said at Mundarara village, one of the project sites. 

The main predators targeted in this WWF-funded project are lions, leopards,hyenas, jackals and other big cats. 

Dr.Sitati said 98 percent of livestock attacks in Tanzania are blamed on packs of lions, leopards and hyenas - the lion being an apex predator. 

The project is being implemented by WWF in collaboration with the Tanzania Natural Resources Forum ((TNRF),

Alais Mshau, a resident of Mundarara,one of the beneficiaries of the project, said he recently lost 50 goats during an attack by a hyena.

WWF has also funded the rehabilitation of a water dam for livestock at Mundarara village at the cost of Sh. 230million.