News from the Italian Parks

he LIFE "Praterie" project has introduced the practice of using shepherd dogs to guard cows, as well as sheep: a success, even beyond borders.

In Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, around 8000 beef cattle are bred, mostly extensively, and about 1000 of them either do not have or do not use stables for the winter. Abruzzo shepherd dogs provide therefore useful and valuable guarding.

Thanks to the selection carried out by C.I.R.Ca. (Centro Internazionale Ricerca sul Cane da lavoro - International Research Centre on Working Dogs), using these wonderful dogs for shepherding activities has proved to be one of the best practices spread by the European project. It is their experimental use for cattle guarding, however, that is raising interest well outside the Park borders, and especially on the Alps, where breeders consider dogs an excellent resource to protect cows from predators.

Read more (Italian text)