Shepherd

Since large carnivores are naturally wary and typically avoid encounters with people, protecting and monitoring livestock herds with a shepherd is another tool that reduces the risk of livestock losses to carnivores and has been used effectively for centuries. In Slovenia, this prevention measure is preserved only in some high mountain areas where shepherds use stalls for milking cows—the result is a value-added yet indirect way to also protect the livestock from carnivores. In other parts of Europe, especially in the western and central parts, shepherding is largely absent as form of animal husbandry. The key techniques that help improve livestock protection from carnivores include night-penning (enclosures) and human presence.