Like their counterparts in the U.S., herders in the Himalayas tend to blame predators without adequately accounting for other mortality such as disease and accidents. Many herders have abandoned proven traditional shepherding practices. In addition to less vigilant guarding, their stock often forage in areas offering good stalking cover for snow leopards. With more children in school and thus not serving as shepherds, families are increasingly letting their stock roam freely during the daytime, or keeping them in poorly constructed livestock pens at night. Yet Central Asia's alpine pastures have long been used by resident and nomadic herders, so that eliminating livestock is not an option in most areas.
Herders respond to livestock depredation by demanding compensation from the government.
But paying for such loss is not a sustainable solution, as it fails to address the root causes. By contrast, predator-proofing corrals is a relatively easy and inexpensive proposition. It is important to accept the fact that livestock predatory losses cannot be entirely eliminated, particularly in areas with high snow leopard numbers or a scarce wild prey base. The real question is how to maintain depredation at a manageable level while also discouraging herders from seeking retribution for the losses they suffer. We must find ways whereby local people are more willing to co-exist with large predators.