Acknowledging Andean Condor predation on livestock, a first step in addressing the human-condor conflict: A commentary to Estrada Pacheco et al. 2020

Abstract

In this comment, we emphasize the need to acknowledge that Andean Condors occasionally depart from their scavenging habits to injure or kill young livestock as an important first step to accepting the existence of a human-condor conflict. Estrada Pacheco et al. (2020) briefly admit a localized “strong conflict with the condor” due to perceived predation of cattle, however, throughout the bulk of the article, they treat the condor as a nonconflictive species accidentally killed in conflicts involving carnivorous predators. To stop Andean Condor mass poisonings in Argentina, the authors recommended two measures: (1) instating a National Law of Traceability and prescription of pesticides, and (2) engaging all stakeholders to resolve the human-carnivore (i.e., wild mammals) conflict. However, we are deeply concerned that denial of the underlying cause of the specific humancondor conflict leads to criminalizing illegal persecution and to ignoring calls for interdisciplinary research and management to tackle the conflict at its roots.