L’IMPATTO DELLA PREDAZIONE LUPINA SUI SISTEMI PASTORALI DELLE VALLI CUNEENSI E TORINESI

Impact of wolf predation on Turin and Cuneo valleys rangeland systems - The wolf presence in the Maritime Alps of Piedmont dates back to the beginnings of the Nineties. Due to the wolf successful dispersion all the valleys of the Cuneo province have been eventually colonized with the presence of stable packs. Many areas of the mountains of the Turin province have been colonized as well. During the last years the number of heads preyed on single attack has decreased due to the adoption of protection measures. The incidence of predation remains high in the areas of new appearance of wolves or when effective protection measures are lacking. Furthermore even where protection tools are introduced (guard dogs, electrified fences) predation does not cease and it involves not only losses of killed and wounded animals but also uneasiness and other indirect costs that are only partially counterbalanced by the managed pasture compensations payments. The need of all day round guarding and of an increased number of shepherds raises manpower costs especially in the case of great transhumant sheep flocks. On the other side the small dairy farms face new difficulties in order to manage both animal shepherding and cheese-manufacturing or hay harvesting in the bottom valley. In this paper the contents of a three years project sponsored by the Regione Piemonte administrative agriculture offices for supporting the pastoral systems (‘Sustainability of pastoral breeding in Piedmont: individualization and realization of intervention and support lines‘) are presented. The project aims to assess the middle and long term impact of the awkward ’cohabitation‘ with the predator on the different types of pastoral systems. The predation related constraints on flocks management will be evaluated in terms of decline of flocks, livestock units, and grazed surfaces, as well as a loss of values like traditional knowledge and practices, local high quality products, genetic diversity and landscape quality