The removal of lions and leopards from the farmlands, in addition to plentiful natural prey animals and an abundance of water, have opened up a niche for the cheetah and have allowed it to exist on Namibian farms. Inevitably, this sharing of land and resources has led to conflict, with the cheetah on the losing end. In the 1980's, Namibia was hit hard by drought. The cheetah's natural prey base died, or was killed by farmers to reduce grazing and watering pressures on their livestock. With little natural prey to hunt, some cheetahs were forced to take livestock.
Many farmers consider the cheetah to be a major threat to their livestock.
In Namibia, cheetahs are a protected species. Trapping and shooting cheetahs that are suspected of being a threat to livestock is permitted. CCF's goal is to help livestock farmers find ways to co-exist with cheetahs. The Anatolian Shepherd originated in the arid Anatolian Plateau region of Turkey and Asia Minor over 6000 years ago. This environment is very similar to Namibia, with very little rain, extreme heat in summer and cold in winter.