Photo:Marica Marinović Golubić
The fate of the Eurasian griffon vulture in Croatia is inseparably linked to human activity. Without the help of people who currently ensure a consistent food supply at feeding stations, this last population of scavenger birds in our country might have completely disappeared. Historically, large numbers of sheep grazed freely on open pastures, and scavengers would consume the remains of deceased sheep, thereby preventing the spread of various diseases. However, today, the traditional extensive form of livestock farming is in decline, reducing the availability of food for Eurasian griffon vultures. It is therefore crucial to invest significant effort into preserving this type of farming to conserve Euroasian griffon vultures and other species that depend on open habitats, such as pastures.
As part of the LIFE SUPport project, in an effort to explore the reasons behind the decline in sheep farming and to boost motivation for continuing this activity through various initiatives, local residents’ perspectives were surveyed this year on the Kvarner islands, which are also home to Croatia’s griffon vulture population.
Eurasian Griffon Vulture in Flight (photo: Biom)
The coexistence of Euroasian griffon vultures and sheep farmers on the Kvarner islands spans more than 1,000 years, as detailed by Goran Sušić and Irena Grbac in their book “Do You Want Reality or Myth – The Story of the Griffon Vulture” (2002). Over the millennia, Kvarner’s vultures have synchronised their breeding season with the lambing period of sheep, when mortality among sheep is at its peak. This alignment ensured a reliable source of food for vultures and their chicks.
The number of sheep on the islands of Krk, Cres, Lošinj, and Rab has been decreasing. According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s data, sheep numbers have fallen by 15% since 2011. In 2011, there were 32,000 sheep across these islands; by 2023, this number had dropped to 27,000—a reduction of 5,000 in 12 years. At this rate, sheep numbers could more than halve in the next 20 years. The island of Rab has experienced the steepest decline, retaining just 67% of its 2011 sheep population by 2023. Behind Rab is the island Krk, with an 82% decline, almost 20% of the total sheep number in the last 12 years.
Meanwhile, Cres has shown the most stability, with only a 9% reduction from 2011 to 2023.
Cheese production is minimal, and income is almost exclusively generated from the sale of lambs. On Krk, the Krk sheep “pramenka” is bred; on Cres, the Cres sheep; and on Rab, “škraparica” or Rab sheep, which is also a variant of Krk’s “pramenka”. These three sheep breeds differ in height and weight, with the Cres sheep being slightly larger. There have been attempts to crossbreed with other breeds, but local sheep farmers largely consider these experiments unsuccessful.
Tagging sheep on the Island of Cres—a young shepherd learning from an elder (photo: Marica Marinović Golubić)
According to a study conducted as part of the LIFE SUPport project by doc. dr. sc. Marica Marinović Golubić, livestock farming is a family tradition for most of the respondents, passed down from their parents, grandparents, and often great-grandparents. All surveyed livestock farmers are native to the islands where they were interviewed and have, on average, been engaged in livestock farming for 30 years. The oldest respondent is 70 years old, while the youngest is 35. Half of the respondents estimate they live better than the Croatian average, attributing this to their physically demanding work and the combination of agriculture, tourism, and income from employment or pensions. The other half believe they live approximately at the average level, with none reporting living below the national standard.
Sheep farming on the Kvarner islands is predominantly carried out by men, as reflected in this survey, where only one out of 24 respondents was a woman. However, in a quarter of cases, wives or mothers of the shepherds participated in the survey, provided additional input, or joined the interviewers, their husbands or sons, on the pastures to inspect the sheep. The support of wives, the entire family, and friends is also seen as crucial in livestock farming, as respondents noted that “more hands are needed, especially during shearing, gathering the herd, tagging lambs and sheep, slaughtering, and similar tasks”.
For the majority of shepherds on the Kvarner islands, sheep farming is now merely a supplementary source of income. These are so-called multi-income families, where earnings from salaries or pensions are combined with revenue from selling lambs. A second group consists of farmers who generate income by combining sheep farming with the cultivation of vineyards and olive groves, occasionally supplemented by tourism. The third group comprises professional shepherds who are solely dedicated to livestock farming, specifically sheep. As their livelihood depends entirely on livestock, they are particularly vulnerable to losses caused by disease, predators, or changes in legal frameworks. Among the surveyed shepherds, the largest herder had a herd of 800 adult sheep, while the smallest comprised just 4.
All shepherds, especially those on the island of Krk, report a year-on-year decline in the number of sheep. According to their accounts, the growing populations of wild boars and European jackals make it impossible to leave sheep and lambs unsupervised on open pastures under extensive farming conditions due to significant losses in flocks, particularly lambs.
Efforts to combat wild boars and jackals involve culling and fencing pastures. Hunting associations, which include many shepherds, manage the culling. Fencing, however, is not systematic and depends on the financial and labour capacity of individual shepherds.
There is no consensus on using reinforcement mesh as protection—smaller shepherds don’t prefer this method, while larger ones see no other option to safeguard their flocks. Overall, the arrival of new species on the Kvarner islands has significantly increased the cost of sheep farming compared to the past.
Pasture on the island of Krk (photo: Marica Marinović Golubić)
All surveyed shepherds suffer continuous losses due to predators: European jackals and wild boars on Krk, and wild boars alone on Cres and Lošinj. However, it’s important to note that the European jackal is a rapidly spreading species. Sightings have already been recorded on Cres and Lošinj, indicating a potential for the establishment of a jackal population on these islands.
That would pose a new challenge for sheep farming on Cres, where the sheep population has seen the smallest decline in the past decade (9%). Rab remains an exception, with neither wild boars nor jackals present.
Thanks to their isolation from the mainland and other islands, each island is a unique “world”, shaped by its specific conditions—for example, neither Cres nor Rab has foxes, while foxes on Krk have traditionally threatened lambs. Interestingly, since the arrival of jackals, the fox population on Krk has declined.
Rab faces a paradoxical issue of feral sheep. On this island, cases have been reported where livestock was left unattended after the owners passed away, leaving small flocks to roam freely.
All surveyed shepherds anticipate a continued decline in their numbers. They attribute this trend to the ageing population of shepherds, the presence of invasive species on the islands, and a lack of societal recognition and support for sheep farming.
Acording to respondents, there are no local projects addressing the preservation of sheep farming, problems like land ownership issues, unresolved cadastral records, insufficient additional government support, and fencing solutions (traditional dry stone walls or fences made from reinforcement mesh or wattle). Restrictions imposed by forestry and nature conservation sectors on fencing further complicate matters. Shepherds also highlight the need for better meat distribution support and more effective hunting of jackals and wild boars, including higher rewards and more systematic culling.
Sheep farming on Krk, Cres, Lošinj, and Rab serves as a rare reminder that tourism is not the only viable activity on the islands. Sheep farming and tourism should complement rather than exclude each other, with local food production becoming an integral part of tourism development. Therefore, it is crucial to promote sheep farming as an essential island activity with cultural, traditional, economic (food production), and ecological significance, contributing to biodiversity conservation.
