Free-ranging dogs top threat to Spiti livestock, study finds

The Story in Brief

A new study in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, finds free-ranging domestic dogs have overtaken snow leopards and wolves as the main threat to livestock. Between 2003 and 2013, 72 per cent of households surveyed reported a decline in sheep and goats, with herding challenges cited as the top reason for the drop. Dogs are now the leading cause of livestock losses, disrupting the traditional agro-pastoral system that depends on animal manure to nourish crops in this cold desert. Researchers interviewed herders across 27 villages and called for integrated community-led management of dogs to protect both livelihoods and wildlife.

The study documents rapid socio-economic change driven by tourism, government schemes, and changing farm practices. Several villages have stopped rearing sheep and goats entirely, and in others, the number of households keeping them has fallen by half to three-fourths. Respondents cited herding difficulties due to fewer hands and rising dog numbers, along with fodder shortages and wild carnivore attacks. Future livestock losses to dogs are expected to grow unless local panchayats and government agencies act together to manage the dog population through sterilisation and waste control.