Management of wildlife-human conflicts in Israel: a wide variety of vertebrate pest problems in a difficult and compact environment

Although Israel is a small country, it sits at the junction of three continents, and has an especially rich diversity of ecotones and wildlife. In addition, Israel serves as a narrow land-bridge on the major migratory route for millions of birds between Eurasia and Africa. Competing with all this wildlife for living space is a relatively dense human population. Israel is quite conservation-minded with strict wildlife protection laws and very little hunting. All these factors contribute to a situation in which there is much human influence over whatever available habitat is left for wildlife. Consequently, wildlife-human conflicts are common and diverse, but are dealt with mainly with non-lethal methods. Millions of migratory birds cross through Israel and share Israel’s small airspace with the Israeli Air Force (IAF). Israel is especially active in Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) issues, which are controlled by a variety of means, including real-time radar information of migratory birds, habitat management, and use of border collies at airfields. Wildlife in Israel are vectors for human diseases (e.g., leishmaniasis, rabies, and West Nile fever). To prevent rabies epidemics, Israel has recently begun successful use of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) for jackals (Canis aureus) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes)