Last week we headed to the north of Portugal to check up on “Hati” a young livestock guarding dog that we have funded as part of a wider project to prevent the persecution of the Iberian wolf.
Hati, a Serra da Estrela, has adapted quickly to his new role and has a strong bond with his herd of cattle. We catch up with Hati’s new owner and Sara from Rewilding Portugal to find out how he has been doing in his first months as a guarding dog.

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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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South of the Douro river in Portugal, there is an Iberian wolf subpopulation that, on top of other challenges, is being threatened by conflict with local farmers. When wolves attack livestock they become an economic burden for the local community, which may respond by killing or harming them.

Unless this conflict is resolved it is difficult to see a viable future for the Iberian wolf in the region.
As such, we helped launch the Livestock Guarding Dogs Project, to relieve this tension and aid the coexistence between local farmers and wolves. Native breeds, such as Serra da Estrela and Castro Laboreiro, can be extremely effective in detecting wolves near the flock/herd and chasing them away, thereby preventing wolf attacks and livestock losses from occurring.

Still, there are significant costs associated with acquiring and taking good care of the dogs and this can deter farmers from embracing the solution.

Mossy Earth, Rewilding Portugal and Grupo Lobo are working together to address this and make it easier for local farmers to acquire and maintain livestock guarding dogs such as Hati.

A big thank you to all Mossy Earth members for making this project possible.

⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
0:00 Intro
0:26 Goal of this project
0:52 Meet Hati the dog!
2:04 Supporting farmers
3:13 Wildlife
4:18 Integrating with the dogs
5:25 Outro