Research by the Universities of Johannesburg and Cape Town regarding the impact of lethal management on the genetics of black-backed jackal and caracal populations in the Karoo shows that such management is counterproductive for farmers. Results indicated a high genetic diversity in jackal and caracal populations, probably as a result of a compensatory dispersal response to culling. Lethal management to control populations of jackal and caracal appears (once again) to not be appropriate to meet the small-livestock farmers’ goals of reducing predator numbers on farmland to limit predation on their livestock, because more predators seem to recolonize areas where jackals and caracals have been killed.
The fieldwork component of this project was funded by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.