HUMANANIMAL BOND

THE SCAS JOURNAL SPRING 2012

Linking dogs, humans and Barbary macaques

In northern Morocco, an interdisciplinary conservation project that focuses on the Barbary macaque is also improving the relationship between humans and their domestic animals. SCAS member Tamlin Watson explains how the BMCRif dog health and welfare programme is helping to spread the message of responsible dog ownership.
Tamlin Watson, Bouhachem Dog Welfare Project Ofcer for Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif (BMCRif)

After completing an undergraduate degree in Zoology I spent a number of years undertaking self-employed contracts in wildlife conservation, before adding a postgraduate level qualication in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling from Southampton University. I hoped this would provide a sound basis to continue into a career improving the humananimal relationship. Once I had graduated, I developed a behaviour referral service in Wales whilst still undertaking various bird and mammal surveys which was how I met Sian Waters of Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif (BMCRif). Sian had begun the BMCRif conservation project in northern Morocco in 2004, using a multidisciplinary approach to reduce humanwildlife conict between local inhabitants in Bouhachem forest and endangered Barbary macaques (a species of monkey). She asked for my assistance to reduce predation by feral dogs which had been attacking wildlife and livestock; many methods had already been used to kill the dogs, including poisoning, which is not only an inhumane method but also not specic to its target. My skills as a welfare and behaviour specialist were needed to gain some insight into where these feral dogs were coming from and whether we could provide a more humane method of population control whilst educating the locals about responsible dog ownership.

the rst round of vaccinations in 2010, a young woman died of rabies in our village. This gave added impetus to our work. I arrived back in the UK and promptly began securing funding, basic medical equipment for the dogs and other equipment that would be necessary for working in the mountains, as the team lives amongst the local community in one of our target villages, Lahcen, throughout our eld work.

A long-term education strategy

The next excursions would be for eight weeks and this is a pattern that is now repeated every year to continue the dog health aspect of the project; the rest of the very dedicated team continue the conservation work all year round. On arrival back in Morocco we enlisted the skills of a leather worker to provide brightly coloured collars, local government ofcials were informed of our proposals and they offered their wholehearted support for our programme. The rabies vaccination programme has been repeated now with coverage of 80% of the dog population, the remaining unvaccinated animals being too young, too old, too debilitated or too wild to be caught. All dogs were also treated for internal parasites and given basic medical attention when necessary. This programme is being expanded every year and even the remotest villages are being included this is essential as there are rabies

Dog health and welfare programme

I went out to Morocco for an initial visit to assess the scale of the work needed. I developed a detailed photographic record to enable identication of dogs in the area as there was already a strong suspicion that the dogs causing problems were not feral but owned. It was decided that some method to involve the local community was needed and we decided a dog rabies vaccination programme would not only provide much-needed medical assistance to a region with known rabies outbreaks, but would also provide us with a means to establish the source of these problem dogs. We would photograph, mark and collar these dogs using a different colour for each village and in doing so could begin to establish the relationship between monkeys and dogs, and nd out how the team could help. It sounds easy if you say it quickly! At the time we did not realise how prevalent rabies was in the villages and it came as a shock that just before

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outbreaks in the villages every year with both human and animal fatalities. We established that dogs that had been seen attacking livestock and macaques were indeed owned. This meant a long-term education strategy had to be developed to improve relationships and responsibility between people and their dogs, and also to encourage the villagers to protect the Barbary macaques from their dogs.

About the author

Tamlin Watson is Bouhachem Dog Welfare Project Ofcer for Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif (BMCRif), in northern Morocco. She has worked with wildlife conservation and domestic animals for nearly 20 years, specialising in animal behaviour and welfare. She holds a PGDip in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling from Southampton University and runs an animal behaviour and training business in the UK. Tamlin is a provisional member of the APBC and AWNW, being a member of the Working Group for Sanctuaries. She organises the BMCRif Dog Health Programme securing funding, organising materials, handling dogs and analysing data.

Bite prevention lessons

In addition to the vaccination programme we have developed bite prevention lessons for village schools within the region, which also have a strong message about the importance of dogs to our lives and how useful they can be. During these lessons, we talk about the jobs of highly trained assistance dogs and how they can help people this never ceases to amaze the children. BMCRif staff Ahmed El Harrad and Sonia Poveda have been delivering these bite prevention lessons to the villages, alongside Barbary macaque conservation lessons. This ensures that villagers understand the relationship between the presence of BMCRif, the rabies vaccinations and workshops in schools, and the conservation of Barbary macaques. We hope to expand the availability of rabies vaccinations to the remotest regions of this area and will be instigating a neutering programme shortly.

Dog handling workshops

Although most dogs are owned they are rarely handled; most humans and dogs are fearful of each other leading to a vicious cycle of bites and rough punishment, resulting in further aggression and fear. Fortunately, in each village I have spotted at least one owner who not only seems to care for their dog but has also developed a trusting bond where both appear condent and relaxed in each others company and the dog actively seeks out human contact. We hope to utilise these rare bonds to provide a basis for the development of workshops showing handling skills and basic training for dogs. Our aim, primarily, is to teach the owner and their dog so that they can then demonstrate to the neighbours of their village how to handle their dogs, lessening aggression, bites and ultimately rabies incidence. BMCRif aims to empower locals to learn new skills which will benet themselves and their local communities.

Future plans
The religious beliefs in Morocco dene both monkeys and dogs as unclean, so BMCRif needs to develop strategies to work with these beliefs. This is not easy but we are making progress. We have found that villagers are beginning to see the monkeys as their own to protect, which we hope will serve to minimise the effects of illegal trafcking seen in other areas of Morocco. We regularly get phone calls giving intelligence regarding captive baby monkeys and locals tell us how they have intervened when they have found young boys tormenting and harassing the monkeys. We are always looking for help with funding or useful resources so please contact us if you can help at all. We will also be looking for veterinarians, veterinary nurses and donations of equipment for the neutering programme to be implemented this year let us know if you can help!

Further information
Please check out our website for further information about our work: www.barbarymacaque.org. If you want more information about the conservation project, contact Sian Waters: Sian@barbarymacaque.org or for more information about the dog health and welfare aspect of the project, contact Tamlin Watson: Tamlin@barbarymacaque.org.