PremieRpet backs maned wolf research with Onçafari
Bottom line
PremieRpet, the Brazilian pet nutrition company behind Natoo Pet Foods in the U.S., has partnered with conservation nonprofit Onçafari to fund a 12-month maned wolf research project in Brazil’s Cerrado. The companies said the initiative includes a roughly $30,000, or R$150,000, investment to analyze years of tracking data from wolves monitored since 2018 at Fazenda Trijunção, where the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Goiás meet. The work will focus on movement patterns, habitat use, and conservation needs, and will also examine Giardia in biological samples and create a fecal sample bank for future research. (pet-insight.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the project sits at the intersection of conservation medicine, parasitology, and One Health. Maned wolves are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN and described as Vulnerable in Brazil, and the new sampling work could add useful insight into pathogen pressure at the wildlife-domestic animal-human interface, especially in productive landscapes where contact risks can rise. That makes the partnership relevant not just as a corporate social responsibility effort, but as a data-generating conservation health project with potential implications for wildlife disease surveillance and habitat management. (pet-insight.com)
What to watch: Watch for conference presentations or scientific publications from the 12-month project, especially any findings on Giardia, seasonal range use, and how maned wolves are navigating agricultural landscapes in the Cerrado. (pet-insight.com)
PremieRpet is putting money behind wildlife research, announcing a partnership with Onçafari to support a 12-month conservation study focused on the maned wolf, South America’s largest wild canid. The initiative centers on Brazil’s Cerrado and is backed by a R$150,000 investment, with the stated goal of turning years of field monitoring into publishable science on how the species moves through native and working landscapes. (pet-insight.com)
The partnership builds on work Onçafari says it has been conducting in the Cerrado since 2018, when it began operations at Pousada Trijunção and placed its first GPS radio collar on a maned wolf there in December of that year. Since then, the organization has expanded its conservation footprint across multiple Brazilian biomes, with maned wolves and jaguars as primary focal species. Onçafari describes the Cerrado base as more than 33,000 hectares, with the maned wolf as its target species in that landscape. (oncafari.org)
According to the announcement, the new project will analyze long-term monitoring data to better understand home range size and how it varies by season, sex, and life stage. Researchers will also test biological samples for Giardia, a parasite relevant to wildlife, domestic animals, and humans, and establish a fecal sample bank for future studies. PremieRpet said findings are expected to be shared through scientific publications and presentations at national and international conferences. (pet-insight.com)
That disease component matters. The maned wolf is currently assessed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, while Brazilian sources cited in the announcement classify it as Vulnerable nationally. A recent SAFE Maned Wolf program plan also identified pathogen spillover from domestic animals, alongside habitat loss, persecution, and road mortality, as a major threat across the species’ range. In that context, a project combining movement ecology with parasite surveillance fits squarely within conservation medicine and One Health priorities. (pet-insight.com)
Publicly available reaction so far appears to be limited mainly to company and trade coverage rather than outside expert commentary. In the announcement, Fernando Maluf, PremieRpet’s vice president of international sales, said the company sees the partnership as support for “science-based efforts” to better understand and protect the species. The move also aligns with PremieRpet’s broader sustainability positioning: the company says Natoo products are made in a LEED Gold-certified, 100% solar-powered facility, and PremieRpet has highlighted other conservation-linked efforts, including support tied to jaguar awareness campaigns. (pet-insight.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is a reminder that pet industry funding is increasingly flowing into wildlife health and habitat research, not just companion animal programs. The Giardia testing and sample banking could eventually support better understanding of pathogen circulation between free-ranging wildlife and nearby domestic animals, while the movement data may help identify where conflict, exposure, or injury risks are concentrated. For clinicians and public health-minded veterinarians, that’s the practical value: better ecological data can inform prevention, surveillance, and cross-sector collaboration. (pet-insight.com)
The announcement also reflects a broader trend in which pet food brands use conservation partnerships to reinforce ESG and brand narratives. That doesn’t diminish the scientific value, but it does mean veterinary readers should watch for whether the project produces peer-reviewed outputs, actionable disease findings, or management recommendations, rather than stopping at awareness-building. Onçafari’s existing record of field monitoring and publication activity suggests there’s at least a pathway for that work to move beyond marketing. (pet-insight.com)
What to watch: The key milestones will be whether the 12-month study yields conference abstracts, peer-reviewed papers, or conservation management guidance, and whether its Giardia and fecal bank work generates usable insight for wildlife veterinarians, epidemiologists, and land managers in the Cerrado. (pet-insight.com)