Dog demography and husbandry practices facilitate dog-wildlife conflict in a suburban-forest interface

Dogs have been recognized as a conservation concern for wildlife. Increasing dog populations have led to a rise in health and ecological problems for humans and wildlife. Dog demography and husbandry practices of dog ownership are key factors for planning population and disease management programs. We conducted a cross-sectional dog demography study in five towns near remnant patches of forest in Central Mexico. The results from surveys applied to 267 households showed high dog ownership (83%). The human dog ratio was 2:1, 2.3 ± SE 1.5 dogs per dog owning household. Mean fecundity rate was 0.8 ± 0.5, with only 11% of the dogs sterilized. Mortality rate was higher in pups than dogs surpassing the year (1.3 vs. 0.12). Overall, vaccination coverage against rabies was higher (81%) than against distemper virus and canine parvovirus (26%). Average dog density for all sites was 1,777 dogs/km 2 . Free-roaming was allowed to 82% of the dogs. Regarding wildlife interactions, 64% of owners have observed wildlife near their houses and 23% have observed a negative interaction, such as predation or chasing of dogs over native fauna. The high densities and high rates of free-roaming dogs found in the study suggest that is likely that dogs harass, compete or predate on wildlife. A high density of dogs and the low vaccination coverage against some pathogens of animal health concern, increases the risk of cross-species transmission between domestic and wild carnivores. Awareness-raising campaigns for dog owners and a dog population management program are required.