Livestock–wildlife interactions: key aspects for reconnecting animal production and wildlife conservation

Abstract

Human population growth has brought an increase in food, water, and land demands, as a result of which livestock production is increasing, with significant consequences for wildlife. Livestock production negatively impacts wildlife when it implies completely substituting native ecosystems for pasturelands; when it occurs on native grasslands or even partially modified savannas, the impacts on wildlife are usually minor but highly dependent on stocking rate and management. Livestock production can reduce the abundance and alter the behavior of some wild species and even lead to their extinction at a local level by changing the vegetation structure and promoting a high presence of dogs and humans. The new environmental conditions that livestock generate could, nevertheless, favor some species. To benefit wildlife and sustainable production, livestock breeders should adjust stocking rates to intermediate levels to avoid severe soil and vegetation degradation and should opportunely rotate the herd between paddocks to generate heterogeneous landscapes. Conservationists and rangeland managers should promote dialogue among livestock breeders and scientists to find sustainable alternatives to favor wildlife, such as developing market distinctions and governmental support for good practices, with win-win outcomes.