The only way to deal with dassies was to kill them manually with rifles and hounds, or to lay poisoned grain, which could harm livestock as well.

Are dassies protected?

Dassies are categorised as Least Concern in the current IUCN Red List. Given their wide distribution and their occurrence in many protected areas, they are unlikely to become threatened with extinction in the near future.

Can dassies carry rabies?

Mice and rats, squirrels, dassies, baboons and monkeys fall into the “unlikely risk” category, while birds and reptiles are considered no risk at all. Bats are an uncommon source and are associated with rabies-related viruses only.