By Victoria Lockwood | Project Leader
Thank you for choosing to support Ethiopian Wolves, the world’s rarest canid.
Health is central to our work to protect Ethiopian wolves. In order to sustain and expand this fragile population, it’s vital that our work not only focuses on the health of the wolves themselves, but also that of the local communities, their domestic animals, and the mountain ecosystem that sustains them all.
Rabies and canine distemper are the main threat to the survival of Ethiopian wolves, and they pose a growing threat to African wild dogs and other endangered carnivores. Found within domestic dog populations, rabies can infect and kill people and livestock, and frequently spills over to wildlife. Many dogs roam freely in the rural highlands, and when they encounter wolves they can transmit diseases.
Supported by Born Free, the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) team began a vaccination programme in 1996. Since then, an average of 4,000 dogs per year have been vaccinated against rabies, and more recently against canine distemper. To be effective, a vaccination programme has to achieve and maintain 70% coverage, a real challenge in a remote landscape with a high turnover in the dog population. In communities where this vaccine programme is established, the team has seen fewer cases of rabies in humans and livestock, and positive attitudes towards wolf conservation have grown considerably thanks to its success and community and school, outreach events. Today, people willingly bring dogs for vaccinations.
Recently, the EWCP team has started a new oral vaccination drive within the wolf population itself. By consuming a piece of meat with a vaccine sachet inside, wolves can auto-vaccinate, which is cheaper, less traumatic and can be done preventatively.
After many years of political lobbying and research, preventive vaccination campaigns have been rolling out across all wolf populations. Great news for the Africa’s most threatened carnivore!
PLEASE NOTE, NOVEMBER 2021: Our hearts and minds are with our Ethiopian colleagues as they face severe challenges due to the current and evolving situation in the country.
Thank you for your continued support.
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By Victoria Lockwood | Project Leader
By Victoria Lockwood | Project Leader
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