 Cheetahs are fast but not that fierce |
An animal rights groups hopes to help save one of Africa's endangered wild cats by marketing "cheetah-friendly" beef in the European Union. Namibian cattle-ranchers who pledge not to hurt the big cats will get a Cheetah Conservation Fund stamp of approval, so they can sell their beef at a premium.
Namibia is home to some 3,000 cheetahs - the largest population in the world.
But until recently, farmers shot the animals on sight as pests, a CCF official told BBC News Online.
The idea is similiar to "dolphin-friendly" tuna, which certifies that dolphins were not caught in fishing nets for tuna fish.
The CCF has already paid for farmers to use fierce Anatolian shepherd guard dogs to scare off cheetahs - preferable to them being shot - said Penny Jarrett.
'Prime cuts'
"Hopefully, as farmers realise they can sell their beef at a good price with the mark, it will have a good effect," she said.
Beef is one of Namibia's major exports.
The dogs have been quite effective because "although they are very fast, cheetahs are not the fiercest of animals", she said.
Other Namibian famers have employed donkeys to guard their cattle and again, these can scare off cheetahs.
The CCF hope to have the scheme up and running by early 2005.
"In the United Kingdom, for example, we are going to target the catering and conferences put on by the Zoological societies, and mainly promote prime cuts," said CCF director Laurie Marker.
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