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Farmer Perceptions and Use
of Livestock Guarding Dogs in Michigan
(2005-present)
Undergraduate Student: Megan Provost
Livestock producers are the sector of our society that will continue
to interact directly (often as a conflict in the form of livestock
losses due to transmission of disease from wildlife and/or via
predator-caused depredation) with white-tailed deer and wolves in
the northern Great Lakes Region. The
attitudes of livestock producers can be instrumental in determining
future research needs, shaping management plans, and driving
societal perceptions of wildlife. In Michigan, farmers appear to be
interested in using livestock guarding dogs to protect their herds.
Unfortunately, a farmer
assessment of the perceived effectiveness of guard dogs and the
current prevalence of guard dogs has not been conducted. This
study is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kurt VerCauteren.
This study is funded by CMU and USDA-NWRC.
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Great
Pyrenees pups from our LGD study in the western UP of Michigan |
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