In 1994, a zoologist began giving Namibian farmers guard dogs; some farms reported livestock losses falling by 80-100%, reducing pressure to kill predators

In Namibia, cheetah conservation can start with a dog standing among a flock of goats. In 1994, a zoologist, Laurie Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) began an experiment that placed livestock-guarding dogs with farmers who were losing animals to predators. The idea was straightforward: if farmers could protect their sheep and goats without killing cheetahs, leopards and other carnivores, both livestock and wildlife could share the same landscape. Three decades later, the programme has become one of Namibia’s best-known examples of non-lethal predator management.

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