The author, Brandon Breen, in China
By Brandon M. Breen
In early December 2006, my plane departed the Punta Arenas airport in southern Chile, and headed east over the Atlantic Ocean. I, a new Conservation Biology graduate student at the University of Minnesota, prepared to visit my field site, the Falkland Islands, for the first time. A few hours and a few hundred miles after departing Chile, I began to catch glimpses of the islands through a patchwork of clouds. I began to see winding coastlines and breaking surf, inland lakes and yellowish-brown barren land stretching out in every direction. I was heading to study a Turkey Vulture population in an unlikely location. Our plane began descending around 4pm, several hours before the vultures would fold-in their wings on the long Falkland summer days.
Before I arrived I had heard rumors of a conflict involving Falkland sheep farmers and turkey vultures. There was talk that the birds had become more predatory, and were harming farming livelihoods by preying on lambs. Some farmers were requesting permission from the government to shoot vultures, like in the old days. Turkey Vultures are generalist scavengers throughout their extensive range (from Canada down to Tierra del Fuego, and over to the Falkland Islands), and while they are known to occasionally kill weak or helpless creatures (e.g. nestling birds, a toad, baby rats), they are not believed to seriously threaten livestock. Were the farmers drinking too many hot totties on long winter nights? Or was there something unique and sinister about this little-studied population of Turkey Vultures? One thing was certain, more information was needed.
There is no better way to find out what is on farmers’ minds than to sit down with them at their kitchen table with the kettle boiling and a plate of assorted biscuits and cakes within arm’s reach. And this is what I did, from the forest at Hill Cove to the gently rolling plains of Lafonia, to understand farmers’ perspectives.
Additionally, to find out if turkey vultures damage sheep, I went to several lambing paddocks to observe vulture-sheep interactions. As I sat on prominent hilltops and watched over ewes and lambs, it was clear the rugged grasslands of the Falklands belonged not to the humans (there is one farm resident for every 3,700 ha of pastureland), but to the hundreds of thousands of sheep and wild geese.
The farmers I visited welcomed me generously but without fanfare, as though good hospitality came as naturally as conversation about the weather. Once the tea was poured, and the small talk had ended, I began to ask farmers about turkey vultures. How do vultures behave around sheep? Have you seen a vulture attack, or kill, a sheep? What do you think about government policy on turkey vultures? I asked my questions, then grabbed a biscuit, sat back, and listened.
The conflict between farmers and turkey vultures in the Falklands is one example of the phenomenon known as human-wildlife conflict (HWC). HWCs occur when humans and wildlife compete for the same resource, such as a cassava crop or a young lamb. Farmers sometimes kill offending wildlife, and humans with wildlife sympathies become involved and oppose wildlife killings. HWCs tend to resist resolution because the stakeholders involved receive different costs and benefits from wildlife; the same wolf that provides aesthetic benefits to a backpacker also threatens the livelihood of a rancher trying to make ends meet. It is not surprising that different groups have different ideas about how to manage wildlife.
Back in the dining rooms of the Falkland countryside, farmers’ attitudes toward turkey vultures varied greatly; some loathing, others loving these often misunderstood birds. Taken as a whole, our interview results showed that much of the conflict in the Falklands can be explained by a government policy that many farmers see as illegitimate. This policy outlawed many farmers’ preferred method, which is shooting, for dealing with problem turkey vultures. The policy exposes farmers to wildlife costs but does not incorporate farmers’ views, and thus irks some farmers.
During 184 hours observing vulture-sheep interactions, I did not observe turkey vultures to attack sheep. However, on two occasions one or more turkey vultures fed on a sheep on its side and unable to get up. During interviews with farmers, only one of 41 farmers gave a first-hand account of vulture predation on a young lamb, which indicates such behavior is rare. While our observations and farmers experiences show that turkey vultures can indeed harm some live sheep, the vultures appear to cause very little damage overall. What damage they do cause appears to fall on helpless sheep. Many of these sheep in the Falklands would be expected to die with or without vulture intervention, but some percentage of these sheep would
be found and saved by farmers if vultures, and other birds, did not hasten their deaths.
What is the way forward? Should farmers be allowed to shoot vultures when the birds cause little damage? We see potential to modify existing policy to better incorporate farmers’ views without sacrificing the conservation of turkey vultures. Our results indicate that a policy that allows farmers to shoot a limited number of turkey vultures posing an immediate threat to sheep would result in few vultures killed overall, and would empower farmers. Admittedly, some innocent turkey vultures may be killed by farmers who perceive a threat when in fact none exists.
Nevertheless, we believe this option is a good one because (1) most farmers have little interest in shooting turkey vultures but would like to be able to act to protect their sheep if they see a threat, (2) enforcement of vulture protection is nearly non-existent in the sparsely populated Falkland countryside so a policy that appeals to farmers may provide greater protection for turkey vultures than strict, but unenforceable, regulations, (3) allowing limited shooting is unlikely to threaten the conservation status of turkey vultures because there are several thousand turkey vultures and fewer than one hundred farms, and (4) removing problem turkey vultures may protect farmers by removing birds who may possess specialized
learning and have potential to be repeat offenders.
We also recommend additional routes for managing the farmer-vulture conflict. On the husbandry front, farmers who remove carrion from lambing paddocks can reduce the number of scavengers that visit these paddocks, and hence the potential for vulture damage. Our results also show that about half of farmers do not recognize the benefits vultures provide by cleaning up many of the approximately 50,000 sheep that die annually in the Falklands. Without turkey vultures, it is likely these dead sheep would boost populations of more aggressive birds, such as crested and striated caracaras, with negative consequences for sheep farming. Speaking to farmers about
the benefits vultures provide can increase farmers’ tolerance and appreciation of these ecologically important birds. Finally, policy-makers who occasionally travel the countryside to put their finger on the pulse of farmer opinion will pen more durable policies, build relationships as well as social capital, and enjoy a biscuit or two during the process.
Human-wildlife conflicts are complicated, and resolution strategies usually cannot satisfy everyone. It is important for stakeholders to see each other’s point of view, so that compromises can be reached, and everyone can be partially, if not completely, satisfied.
The content of this article comes from a manuscript in preparation by Brandon M. Breen, Kristen C. Nelson, Francesca J. Cuthbert, and Keith L. Bildstein.
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Brandon Breen
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Proyecto Cóndor Andino
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The Vulture Chronicles 
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