Unknowingly, zoos were supporting dealers who created a market for farmers to live-trap cheetahs. We have worked with farmers so that trapping of cheetahs targets only the animals responsible for livestock losses. Cheetahs causing livestock losses but suitable for release back into the wild, are considered for relocation to re-establish or supplement populations in protected areas such as National Parks where domestic livestock does not occur. A new land and wildlife management practice in Namibia is the formation of Conservancies. Conservancies consist of adjacent farms joining together in broad units and developing management strategies sensitive to their farmland ecosystem as a whole.
Conservancies promote conservation through sustainable utilisation.
The advantage of conservancy areas over game farms is that wildlife is free-ranging and can migrate. Also, this form of management promotes bio-diversity including predators. Besides sustainable use, conservancies consider protection, maintenance, rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement of ecosystems, and eco-tourism. CCF is an active member of and situated within the Waterberg Conservancy, located in the heart of Namibia's cheetah country. Our Conservancy is approximately 400,000 acres owned by eleven farmers surrounding the Waterberg Plateau Park.