**All Contributions are tax deductible for US citizens**
Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project is a USA 501(c)3 non-profit that researches, breeds, and trains Mongolian Bankhar livestock protection dogs and places these working dogs in homes of nomadic herding families on the Mongolian steppe. Here, the Bankhar perform their traditional role of protecting livestock herds (sheep, goat, horse, camel, yak) against large carnivorous predators including snow leopards, wolves, brown bears, foxes and eagles, in an effort to end human-carnivore conflict in this region. Equally as important is helping to protect the endangered snow leopard and the local Mongolian wolf populations!
Bankhar dogs are one key to snow leopard conservation. Snow leopards and other carnivores can decimate livestock herds overnight. Herders feel that they have no choice but to exterminate these precious creatures. Bankhar livestock protection dogs scare off the leopards and make lethal intervention unnecessary. That seems like a win-win-win for nomadic herders, snow leopards, and livestock.
We are running an Indiegogo campaign to crowd-fund our
operating expenses for 2016-17. Your support for our project is vital. We can’t
continue our programs without raising these funds – and we are looking to our
community to join us on this amazing adventure. We are looking to the people
who care about us, our dogs, and the possibility of improving the environment,
despite bleak predictions about almost every facet of environmental degradation
in Mongolia.
Since 2008, we have been “bootstrapping” our organization
in Mongolia using the leanest model possible to make the biggest possible
impact. In January of this year, we welcomed out first litters of Bankhar pups
into our facility outside Ulaanbaatar.
We are getting the first data back from our first round of
dogs placements, and the results are really exciting – one working Bankhar dog
can decrease the loss of livestock from predators by more than 85%. That is a
serious benefit to nomadic herding families, who might otherwise be forced to
move into the slums outside Ulaanbaatar due to the collapse of their
livelihood.
Running an NGO in Mongolia is not easy. Making this dream a
reality has been a challenge, but one filled with joy. When we see the effect
we are having on Mongolian people, we know we are doing something important.
Our operating costs for fiscal year 2016-17 are estimated at $75,000. That
covers everything from vet care, food and shelter for the dogs, our staff, our
facility, and transportation and visa costs. That’s a pretty lean budget for so
much impact!
Read a recent article about our work! "How Two Young Americans Ended up Breeding a Mongolian Dog to Save Snow Leopards and Wolves"
by ABC News: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-14/breeding-rare-mongolian-dogs/6696848
Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project's Goals are to:
1) preserve and protect traditional Mongolian culture by supporting herding families in maintaining their traditional nomadic lifestyle
2) slow down and reverse the desertification of the Mongolian grassland steppes by curtailing overgrazing through supporting smaller, more successful herds by use of the Bankhar dog
3) end retribution killing of precious endangered wildlife by herders whose livelihoods are threatened by herd predation
We need your help to run the next phase of Mongolia Bankhar Dog Project for 2016. See our campaign video for additional information about our project, as well as our website www.bankhar.org.
"A Day in the Life of a Bankhar" painting (sample) - Perk offered at $1,500:
A very special thank you to our partners:
Institute of Canine Biology