The Effects of the Makgadikgadi Wildlife Fence on Cattle Populations and Local Cattle Industry

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the erection of the Makgadikgadi wildlife fence along the western border of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on cattle populations and livestock owners to the west of the fence. Cattle foraging behavior and movement patterns were recorded using GPS and focal observation methods to determine resource use and pressures affecting the populations. Interviews were also conducted in the area of Meno-a-Kwena camp to examine the effects of the fence on the economics of the local cattle industry. Signs of resource stress were found in the continued selection of poor quality forage, land degradation around boreholes, and movement patterns that pushed the water bearing capacity of the animals as they searched for quality forage. Interviews contradicted these findings to a certain extent, while extolling the good effects of the fence on cattle predation by wildlife and premium prices offered by BMC as a result of the fence’s disease-controlling effects