Removing southern African fences may help wildlife, boost economy

Fences intended to protect cattle from catching diseases from wildlife and other livestock in southern Africa are in disrepair, restrict wild animal migrations and likely intensify human-elephant conflict - but a plan to remove key sections could make both livestock and wildlife safer, a new Cornell study suggests.

Across parts of southern Africa, fences aim to separate cattle from other animals to prevent the spread of diseases - most importantly, foot and mouth disease, which is a virus that can be spread to local cattle by wild buffalo or infected livestock.

The fence lines are not only in disrepair due to damage from elephants, but also from the elements and neglect due to the high costs to maintain them; they also restrict the free and vital movements of migrating wildlife - from zebras to wildebeest to elephants - leading to hundreds of thousands of wild animal deaths since the fences were first installed in the 1950s.

Now, a new study proposes a solution: Strategically remove sections of the fencing where disease risks to livestock are very low while promoting herding and other measures that protect cattle from pathogens. And in partnership with local and national government officials, the study's authors are working to implement these measures in hopes that they will improve animal health and productivity, while also providing poor farming communities with additional income sources from a burgeoning wildlife tourism industry.

"The study's results have gotten traction, with the government of Botswana agreeing to consider the possibility of removing some of the most damaging fences and thus restoring some of the most important wildlife migration routes in southern Africa," said Steve Osofsky, D.V.M. '89, the Jay Hyman Professor of Wildlife Health and Health Policy at the College of Veterinary Medicine and senior author of the study published Jan. 29in Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine. Laura Rosen, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust in Zimbabwe, is the paper's first author.

Southern Africa has experienced long-standing conflicts between livestock and wildlife going back to the late 1950s, Osofsky said. Two decades ago, Osofsky developed and launched the AHEAD(Animal & Human Health for the Environment And Development) program, which helps facilitate cooperation around issues affecting both wildlife and livestock.

"We bring parties together within countries, like ministries of agriculture and ministries of environment, but we also work very hard to create an enabling environment for dialogue across international boundaries," Osofsky said.