Are you a farmer or a breeder?

Whether it is for passion or for work, by protecting what you care about you can contribute to bear and nature conservation

READING TIME 7 MIN

There is only one rule to follow to coexist with bears: do not attract them by protecting what you care about.

Whether it is for passion or for work, by protecting what you care about you can contribute to bear and nature conservation

Maybe you have a passion for nature, or you are linked to it for work – by protecting your livestock, your bees or your crops with non-lethal methods, you are the first to contribute to bear and nature conservation. Is it possible to have an activity that puts the bears’ intelligence to the test? There is only one rule to follow: do not attract bears by protecting what we care about. Is this really possible? Yes, with adjustments to your daily routine and by investing in ideas, creativity and solutions. Securing everything that attracts bears is the only way to prevent damage to property, to avoid risky situations for people and to avoid making bears too problematic.

It is absolutely much easier to secure food than to teach bears not to look for it.

Read this list of tips and find the one(s) that suit your needs best:

If you feed carrot scraps to your domestic animals, make sure they have been eaten in the evening, or eventually remove all leftovers. If this is not possible for you, you could use a (fixed or mobile) electric fence at night to keep bears away, or store excess carrots in strong, padlocked containers

If you use feeds for your animals, place the bags or bins in storerooms, cellars or other shelters that offer no access to the animals (close windows or put up grates, reinforce the door and use a padlock and bolt to close it).

Do not leave your farm animals unprotected. Build chicken coops in standardised structures that do not offer a way in for animals (e.g. solid walls without footholds, windows with grating, doors with reinforced hinges and lock and padlock or to close them). See this material to get started.

If you let your farm animals loose, use a solid, coarse-mesh net to fence off the area. If you want to be more secure, consider using an electric fence for support. See this material to get started.

Do not leave your livestock unprotected or unguarded and use not only preventive systems, such as fixed or mobile electric fences, but also good practices (guarding dogs, night shelter or inside electric fences, stable management, etc.). To get started, look at this material.

If you have a lot of farm animals, consider building a chicken coop with some of your neighbours to save costs and better protect your animals.

Do not leave your cultivated fields unprotected and use fixed or mobile electric fences to keep bears away. Also consider experimenting with acoustic deterrents. Watch this material to get started.

Take care of your prevention tools every day: for example, an electric fence requires daily maintenance to function at its best.

Do not leave your cultivated fields unprotected and use fixed or mobile electric fences to keep bears away. Also consider experimenting with acoustic deterrents. Watch this material to get started.

Take care of your prevention tools every day: for example, an electric fence requires daily maintenance to function at its best.

Ask your region, the nearest park authority or associations such as Salviamo L’Orso about financial incentives for securing your property or the possibility of having prevention tools on loan. If you suffer damage to livestock, remove and dispose of the carcasses. In addition to being required by law, remember that wild animals learn from their experiences. Not only will they do more damage, but they will return to your property and that of your neighbours.

For the future of the bear, every small action counts. Spread knowledge, raise awareness, make a difference.

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