The agro-pastoral community generally lives in the vicinity of wildlife habitats, their sheep and goats generally cohabitating high pasture habitats with wild counterparts during summer, as the winter stats the higher pastures goes under the snow cover, the wild angulates migrate toward lower altitudinal pastures for searching of food where they shares with domestic livestock, the chance of indirect disease transmitting during autumn and winter become more severe to these wild species. Scientific studies reveals that 77% livestock pathogens are multi-host which easily and more frequently transmitted to the wild species but difficult to study transmission pathway to the wild ancestors, Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is one of the major contagious diseases effecting respiratory track of the infected animal, generally attacks on sheep and goats during October and November, in this scenario wild population of Himalayan ibex become more expose to these diseases which is a major prey species of snow leopard, reduction in number of prey species consequently increase depredation cases which ultimately cause of human snow leopard conflict. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Saeedul Islam, Coordinator Conservation WWF-Pakistan Chitral, said that one of the objectives of Asia’s high mountain project was to conserve snow leopard and its prey species, the activity is one of the adoptive strategies to reduce risk of diseases transmission from domestic to the wild angulates, WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Chitral and Village Conservation Committees, organized livestock vaccination campaign at Laspur valley. During this event, 4000 sheep and goats were vaccinated with CCPP vaccine in addition Livestock and Dairy Development Department provided ”Albafas” a wormicidal tablets for 600 and vaccine for “Foot & Mouth” disease for 750 animals without taking any cost which is a good example of departmental collaboration and partnership with WWF-Pakistan in Chitral district. WWF-Pakistan also trained community members on livestock vaccination for sustainability and continuity of the vaccination activity in future. The local people highly appreciated the efforts of WWF Pakistan for this campaign.–Kashif Shahzad]]>
