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  1. #1

    Default Jackal control myths

    Hi all

    I have a question. A so called expert has now halted all vermin control on our property(field guide level 2). The reason given is that "once you shoot the jackal, the area gets split between surviving members and thier numbers increase".
    Now we are all for the best solution here. If it means no more thinning of them then so be it. But is this the best solution???

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    Jackal are territorial animals. Dominant males will defend their breeding rights in their territories, keeping any younger (high lebido) males away. If one shoots the dominant male in a territory, these younger males are not kept at bay and any female in estrous will be covered, leading to a population explosion.

    This happens with lion as well. In the early years of the KNP, lions were shot to help the antelope numbers improve after a drought. A lot of big males were shot. In the end they had more lions than ever.

    Antelope like Blesbok, will react the same if one keeps the age of the rams to 2 years and younger.

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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    A lengthy video on the dingo. See what their experience has been.


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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    In my experience only time it is effective to kill them is when you can control their access as well

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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    If they are shot and controlled regularly it works. But this must be implimented as part of the farming or property work schedule/policy not as a part time hobby. It is a continual job.

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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    A lot of farms used to and some still do...have a full time farm worker whose sole task was/is jackal control.
    The methods used by these guys was fairly successful and varied from area to area.
    A lot of farmers in the EC are running Anatolians [spelling ?] with their sheep with great success,

  7. #7

    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    @driepootx thanks was an interesting watch.

    Yesterday I spoke to the local conservation NGO fella(farm we live on borders kzn wildlife and our trail cam caught a lamergaaier breeding pair). He refered me to a paper published by UCT. Will post the link here. Had very interesting facts yet the paper states more research is needed.

    http://www.cssr.uct.ac.za/cssr/pub/wp/324

    We have a good relationship with the Endangered Wildlife Trust too since we have breeding Oribi resident thus the jackal debate.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    Jackal control through not shooting and instead trying to live with the local population is a myth, thought up by some fucking moron that did not spend most of his life living with jackal kills, and does not understand the nature of the animal at all.

    Jackal of any age or gender does not care for taking only what they need, nor do they care for natural food even if in abundance. I can take you to people that can tell you the gender and age of the attacking animal after inspecting a kill, none of these so-called experts can do this because their information comes from the wrong sources.

    Prey tell how you avoid shooting the dominant animal in your territory, because if you know something about jackal culling then you’ll know it’s done at night, where positive identification between animals is neigh impossible. And if you don’t shoot the dominant animal, will he only take one sheep from you each month and NOT breed at all? There are some people that need some sense knocked into them regarding this subject, they suffer from dunning kruger to the terminal degree.

    There is only one way to control jackal, you use proper fencing and destroy the jackal population within those fences, that is it, no other way, nada. It’s a little more difficult for caracal because non electric fences provide little obstruction, but for jackal that is where you start.

    And please, please people, don’t ask the big sheep farmers how to control jackal, they know NOTHING about controlling jackal. They don’t drive around at night shooting jackal, and they don’t inspect their fences each day. They send the “help” to go check the sheep and the fences, and when a few sheep are dead they call the local jackal shooter to come and deal with it. Since neither government nor animal rights groups want to deal with jackal shooters themselves they get to deal with farmers who know nothing about the problem personally.

    If people don’t know why this is in fact a non issue, then do some real research why a generation or two ago of farmers did not have this problem at all, and what changed after that to cause the current problem.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    Quote Originally Posted by Messor View Post

    There is only one way to control jackal, you use proper fencing and destroy the jackal population within those fences, that is it, no other way, nada. It’s a little more difficult for caracal because non electric fences provide little obstruction, but for jackal that is where you start.
    100% correct. I'm a small sheep & game farmer (3200 hectare) and renovating existing jackal proof fencing and replacing stock proof fencing with jackal proof fencing was the best investment I made. With this drought it is even more important as predator problems are increasing in our areas.

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    Default Re: Jackal control myths

    Quote Originally Posted by Craig Gerstner View Post
    100% correct. I'm a small sheep & game farmer (3200 hectare) and renovating existing jackal proof fencing and replacing stock proof fencing with jackal proof fencing was the best investment I made. With this drought it is even more important as predator problems are increasing in our areas.
    Ironically the problem lies with the opposite of this.

    A generation or two ago most farms had farmers, that have changed radically over the last few decades.
    Now instead of 1 farmer farming a 3000ha farm you have 1 farmer farming ten 3000ha farms.
    In the olden days the fences was checked daily, because every single small hole created by erdvark or ystervark was closed again. Now there is simply no way the owner (not farmer) checks the fences each day. Hell 90% of sheep farms doesn’t even have people living there anymore.
    If you don’t maintain your fences, the jackal gets in, once in you need to pay to get them out again, and if you are not at your animals each day that could be tens of thousands in damages later before the jackal guy even arrives.

    Same with big game farms and reserves, go and camp next to them and as a sheep farmer you won’t sleep, since you hear the jackal calling throughout the night. When you have game, with the required fence, the small little holes are not plugged each day, they see no reason to. So now you sit on the one hand with a hell of a lot of unpopulated sheep farms only being used as land but not actively farmed each day, and a massive increase in game only farms where jackal control is not the highest priority.

    Where everybody did their part a few decades ago, now you sit with the opposite, much less people who are even less willing(and capable) to do their part. That is the problem with SA, when farming questions needs to be asked the government runs to the “mega boere” for opinions, they don’t go the small guy who actively controls his stock much better. It’s almost like asking for hunting advice these days, you will get the advice of 1 hunter compared to the advice of the 9 internet snipers who only uses high BC match bullets. Read around on the forums, even when big eland bulls are on the menu hornady eld match bullets in small cartridges is the right medicine these days.

    This debate is like self defence, one says paint ball, the other pepper spray, one says knife the other says snubby, lots of opinions but precious few good advice. Where in fact it is such a simple concept that the select few that knows the truth fails to understand the debate around the subject.

    People that don’t understand the jackal concept should leave their gates and doors open each night, keys in the vehicles, nothing bad will happen to them criminals will only take what they need nothing more. When they grow up and learn the truth then maybe they will understand this topic as well.

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