Conservation conflicts involving mammals in Europe
Keywords:
, Crop damage, hunting, large carnivores, livestock loss, predator control, overabundant ungulates, poaching, small mammals, wildlife managementAbstract
Introduction: In recent times, conflicts involving wildlife have increased in importance and magnitude. Conservation conflicts occur when two or more parties with strongly held opinions clash over conservation objectives, and when one party is perceived to assert its interest at the expense of another. Conservation conflicts usually emerge from “wildlife impactsâ€, defined as circumstances where people, consciously or unconsciously, negatively impact wildlife, or alternatively where wildlife negatively impacts the well-being or livelihoods of people or biodiversity. In Europe, the most frequent and intense conservation conflict associated with the management of mammals is likely that involving predators. For example, large carnivores depredate on livestock and game species, but at the same time these are flagship-species for European nature conservation. Therefore, conflicts about how these species should be managed emerge frequently. The management of overabundant ungulates that negatively impact natural vegetation as well as that of small mammals that damage crops also lead to frequent clashes between stakeholders in Europe. The global conservation status of most conflictive European mammals is rather good. However, some of their populations are threatened, at least partially by illegal killing and poaching. From this perspective, efforts are needed to mitigate conservation conflicts in these areas. In addition, promoting the investigation of conservation conflicts that incorporates multidisciplinary approaches is essential to increase the understanding of such conflicts and ultimately to mitigate them.Key words: Crop damage, hunting, large carnivores, livestock loss, overabundant ungulates, poaching, predator control, small mammals, wildlife managementReferences
ACEVEDO, P., M. A. FARFÁN, A. L. MÁRQUEZ, M. DELIBES-MATEOS, R. REAL, AND J. M. VARGAS. 2011. Past, present and future of wild ungulates in relation to changes in land use. Landscape Ecology 26:19–31.
AMADOR-ALCALÁ, S., E. J. NARANJO, AND G. JIMÉNEZ-FERRER. 2013. Wildlife predation on livestock and poultry: implications for predator conservation in the rainforest of south-east Mexico. Oryx 47:243–250.
AMORES, J. A. B. 2011. The conflict caused by the introduction of bears in the Pyrenees. Different interpretations of the natural and national contracts. Revista Internacional de Sociología 69:439–460.
ANDRÉN, H., J. D. C. LINNELL, O. LIBERG, R. ANDERSEN, A. DANELL, J. KARLSSON, J. ODDEN, P. F. MOA, P. AHLPVIST, T. KVAM, R. FRANZÉN, AND P. SEGERSTRÖM. 2006. Survival rates and causes of mortality in Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in multi-use landscapes. Biological Conservation 131:23–32.
AUSTIN, Z., D. G. RAFFAELLI, AND P. C. L. WHITE. 2013. Interactions between ecological and social drivers in determining and managing biodiversity impacts of deer. Biological Conservation 158:214–222.
BARBIERI, F., R. MACHADO, C. A. ZAPPES, AND L. R. D. OLIVEIRA. 2012. Interactions between the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) and gillnet fishery in the southern Brazilian coast. Ocean and Coastal Management 63:16–23.
BARRIO, I. C., C. G. BUENO, AND F. S. TORTOSA. 2010. Alternative food and rabbit damage in vineyards of southern Spain. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 138:51–54.
BARRIO, I. C., C. G. BUENO, R. VILLAFUERTE, AND F. S. TORTOSA. 2013. Rabbits, weeds and crops: does agricultural intensification promote wildlife conflicts in semiarid agro-ecosystems? Journal of Arid Environments 90:1–4.
BERNY, P. 2007. Pesticides and the intoxication of wild animals. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 30:93-100.
BLEIER, N., R. LEHOCZKI, D. ÚJVÁRY, L. SZEMETHY, AND S. CSÁNYI. 2012. Relationship between wild ungulates density and crop damage in Hungary. Acta Theriologica 57:351–359.
BIGNAL, E. M., AND D. I. MCCRACKEN. 2000. The nature conservation value of European traditional farming systems. Environmental Reviews 8:149–171.
BREITENMOSER, U., A. RYSER, A. MOLINARI-JOBIN, F. ZIMMERMAN, H. HALLER, P. MOLINARI, AND C. BREITENMOSER-WURSTEN. 2010. The changing impact of predation as a source of conflict between hunters and reintroduced lynx in Switzerland. Pp. 493-506 in Biology and conservation of wild felids (Macdonland, D. W., and A. J. Loverige, eds.). Oxford University Press. London, United Kingdom.
COEURDASSIER, M., R. RIOLS, A. DECORS, A. MIONNET, F. DAVID, T. QUINTAINE, D. TRUCHELET, R. SCHEIFLER, AND P. GIRADOUX. 2014. Unintentional wildlife poisoning and proposals for sustainable management of rodents. Conservation Biology 28:315–321.
COLINO-RABANAL, V. J., M. LIZANA, AND S. J. PERIS. 2011. Factors influencing wolf Canis lupus roadkills in Northwest Spain. European Journal of Wildlife Research 57:399–409.
CONOVER, M. R. 2002. Resolving human-wildlife conflicts: the science of wildlife damage management. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton, Florida.
COTÉ, S. D., T. P. ROONEY, J. P. TREMBLAY, C. DUSSALT, AND D. M. WALLER. 2004. Ecological impacts of deer overabundance. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 35:113–147.
DELIBES-MATEOS, M., M. DELIBES, P. FERRERAS, AND R. VILLAFUERTE. 2008. The key role of European rabbits in the conservation of the western Mediterranean basin hotspot. Conservation Biology 22:1106–1117.
DELIBES-MATEOS, M., P. FERRERAS, AND R. VILLAFUERTE. 2009. European rabbit population trends and associated factors: a review of the situation in the Iberian Peninsula. Mammal Review 39:124–140.
DELIBES-MATEOS, M., A. T. SMITH, C. SLOBODCHIKOFF, AND J. E. SWENSON. 2011. The paradox of keystone species persecuted as pests: a call for the conservation of abundant small mammals in their native range. Biological Conservation 144:1335–1346.
DELIBES-MATEOS, M. S. FERNÁNDEZ-DÍAZ, P. FERRERAS, J. VIÑUELA, AND B. ARROYO. 2013. The role of economic and social factors driving predator control in small game estates in central Spain. Ecology and Society 38:18.
DELIBES-MATEOS, M., C. FERREIRA, C. ROUCO, R. VILLAFUERTE, AND I. C. BARRIO. 2014. Conservationists, hunters and farmers: the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus management conflict in the Iberian Peninsula. Mammal Review 44:190–203.
DÍAZ-RUIZ, F., M. DELIBES-MATEOS, J. L. GARCÍA-MORENO, J. M. LÓPEZ-MARTIN, C. FERREIRA, AND P. FERRERAS. 2013. Biogeographical patterns in the diet of an opportunistic predator: The red fox Vulpes vulpes in the Iberian Peninsula. Mammal Review 43:59–70.
DICKMAN, A. J. 2010. Complexities of conflict: the importance of considering social factors for effectively resolving human-wildlife conflict. Animal Conservation 13:458–466.
DONALD, P. F., R. E. GREEN, AND M. F. HEATH. 2001. Agricultural intensification and the collapse of Europe’s farmland bird populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268:25–29.
EDWARDS, G. R., M. J. CRAWLEY, AND M. S. HEARD. 1999. Factors influencing molehill distribution in grassland: implications for controlling the damage caused by molehills. Journal of Applied Ecology 36:434–442.
EZEBILO, E. E., C. SANDSTRÖM, AND G. ERICSSON. 2012. Browsing damage by moose in Swedish forests: assessments by hunters and foresters. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 27:659–668.
FERREIRA, C., AND M. DELIBES-MATEOS. 2010. Wild rabbit management in the Iberian Peninsula: state of the art and future perspectives for Iberian lynx conservation. Wildlife Biology in Practice 6:48–66.
FERREIRA, C., AND M. DELIBES-MATEOS. 2012. Conflictive management of small mammals considered as pests: a long way to evidence-based policy making. Current Zoology 58:353–357.
FICETOLA, G. F., A. BONARDI, P. MAIROTA, V. LERONNI, AND E. PADOA-SCHIOPPA. 2014. Predicting wild boar damages to croplands in a mosaic of agricultural and natural areas. Current Zoology 60:170–179.
FITZGIBBON, S. I., AND D. N. JONES. 2006. A community-based wildlife survey: the knowledge and attitudes of residents of suburban Brisbane, with a focus on bandicoots. Wildlife Research 33:233–241.
FREITAS, D., J. GOMES, T. SALES LUIS, L. MADRUGA, C. MARQUES, G. BAPTISTA, L. M. ROSALINO, P. ANTUNES, R. SANTOS, AND M. SANTOS-REI.2007. Otters and fish farms in the Sado estuary: ecological and socio-economic basis of a conflict. Hydrobiologia 587:51–62.
FULLER, R. J., AND R. M. A. GILL. 2001. Ecological impacts of increasing numbers of deer in British woodlands. Forestry 74:193–199.
GANGAAS, K. E., B. P. KALTENBORN, AND H. P. ANDREASSEN. 2013. Geo-spatial aspects of acceptance of illegal hunting of large carnivores in Scandinavia. PLOS ONE 8: e68849.
GARROTE, G., G. LÓPEZ, J. M. GIL-SÁNCHEZ, E. ROJAS, M. RUIZ, J. M. BUENO, S. DE LILLO, A. J. RODRÍGUEZ-SILES, J. M. MARTÍN, J. PÉREZ, M. GARCÍA-TARDÍO, G. VALENZUELA, AND M. A. SIMÓN. 2013. Human-felid conflict as a further handicap to the conservation of the critically endangered Iberian lynx. European Journal of Wildlife Research 59:287–290.
GERVASI, V., N. B. NIELSEN, J. ODDEN, Y. BOUYER, AND J. D. C. LINNELL. 2014. The spatio-temporal distribution of wild and domestic ungulates modulates lynx kill rates in a multi-use landscape. Journal of Zoology 292:175–183.
GORTÁZAR, C., R. J. DELAHAY, R. A. MCDONALD, M. BOADELLA, G. J. WILLSON, D. GAVIER-WIDEN, AND P. ACEVEDO. 2012. The status of tuberculosis in European wild mammals. Mammal Review 42:193–206.
GRAHAM, K., A. P. BECKERMAN, AND S. THIRGOOD. 2005. Human-predator-prey conflicts: ecological correlates, prey loses and patterns of management. Biological Conservation 122:159–171.
HANEY, M. J., AND M. R. CONOVER. 2013. Ungulate damage to safflower in Utah. Journal of Wildlife Management 77:282–289.
IUCN. 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. http://www.iucnredlist.org (Downloaded on September 2014).
KACZENSKY, P., J. JERINA, AND M. JONOZOVIC. 2011. Illegal killings may hamper brown bear recovery in the Eastern Alps. Ursus 22:37–46.
KNARRUM, V., O. J. SORENSE, T. EGGEN, T. KVAM, O. OPSETH, K. OVERSKAUG, AND A. EIDSMO. 2006. Brown bear predation on domestic sheep in central Norway. Ursus 17:67–74.
KOVARIK, P., M. KUTAL, AND I. MACHAR. 2014. Sheep and wolves: is the occurrence of large predators a limiting factor for sheep grazing in the Czech Carpathians? Journal for Natural Conservation 22:479–486.
KROOS, S. M., J. M. TYLIANAKIS, AND X. J. NELSON. 2012. Effects of introducing threatened falcons into vineyards on abundance of Passeriformes and bird damages to grapes. Conservation Biology 26:142–149.
LESCUREUX, N., J. D. C. LINNELL, S. MUSTAFA, D. MELOVSKI, A. STOJANOV, G. IVANOV, V. AVUKATOV, M. VON ARX, AND U. BREITENMOSER. 2011. Fear of the unknown: Local knowledge and perceptions of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in western Macedonia. Oryx 45:600–607.
LI, X., P. BUZZARD, Y. CHEN, AND X. JIANG. 2013. Patterns of livestock predation by carnivores: Human-wildlife conflict in Northwest Yunnan, China. Environmental Management 52:1334–1340.
LIBERG, O., G. CHAPRON, P. WABAKKEN, H. C. PEDERSEN, N. THOMPSON HOBBS, AND H. SAND. 2012. Shoot, shovel and shut up: cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279:910–915.
LINNELL, J. D., R. ANDERSEN, Z. ANDERSONE, L. BALCLAUSKAS, J. C. BLANCO, S. BRAINERD, U. BREITENMOSER, I. KOJOLA, O. LIBERG, J. LOE, H. OKARMA, H. C. PEDERSEN, C. PROMBERGER, H. SAND, E. J. SOLBERG, H. VALDMANN, AND P. WABAKKEN. 2002. The fear of wolves: a review of wolf attacks on humans. NINA Oppdragsmelding 731:1–65.
LINNELL, J. D. C, U. BREITENMOSER, C. BREITENMOSER-WÜRSTEN, J. ODDEN, AND M. VON ARX. 2009. Recovery of Eurasian lynx in Europe: what part has reintroduction played? Pp. 72–91 in Reintroduction of top-order predators? (Hayward M. W., and M. Somers, eds.). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. London, United Kingdom.
LINNELL, J. D. C., H. BROSETH, J. ODDEN, AND E. B. NILSEN. 2010. Sustainable harvesting a large carnivore? Development of Eurasian lynx populations in Norway during 160 years of shifting policy. Environmental Management 45:1142–1154.
LIUKKONEN, T., S. MYKRÄ, J. BISI, AND S. KURKI. 2009. Conflicts and compromises in Lynx Lynx lynx conservation and management in Finland. Wildlife Biology 15:165–174.
LÓPEZ, G., M. LÓPEZ-PARRA, G. GARROTE, L. FERNÁNDEZ, T. REY-WAMBA, R. ARENAS-ROJAS, M. GARCÍA-TARDÍO, G. RUIZ, T. ZORRILLA, M. MORAL, AND M. A. SIMÓN. 2014. Evaluating mortality rates and casualties in a critically endangered felid across its whole distribution range. European Journal of Wildlife Research 60:359–366.
MACMILLAN, D. G. 2004. Tradeable hunting obligations – A new approach to regulating red deer numbers in the Scottish Highlands? Journal of Environmental Management 71:261–270.
MACMILLAN, D. G., AND S. PHILLIP. 2010. Can economic incentives resolve conservation conflict: the case of wild deer management and habitat conservation in the Scottish Highlands. Human Ecology 38:485–493.
MARSHALL, K., R. WHITE, R., AND A. FISCHER. 2007. Conflicts between humans over wildlife management: on the diversity of stakeholder attitudes and implications for conflict management. Biodiversity and Conservation 16:3129–3146.
MERYENS, A., AND C. PROMBERGER. 2000. Economic aspects of large carnivore-livestock conflicts in Romania. Ursus 12:173–180.
MYSTERUD, A. 2004. Temporal variation in the number of car-killed red deer Cervus elaphus in Norway. Wildlife Biology 10:203–211.
NOWAK, S., R. W. MYSLAJEK, A. KLOSINSKA, AND G. GABRYS. 2011. Diet and prey selection of wolves (Canis lupus) recolonizing western and central Poland. Mammalian Biology 76:709–715.
ODDEN, J., J. D. C. LINNELL, P. F. MOA, I. HERFINDAL, T. KVAM, AND R. ANDERSEN. 2002. Lynx depredation on domestic sheep in Norway. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:98–105.
ODDEN, J., LINNELL, J. D. C., AND R. ANDERSEN. 2006. Diet of Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx, in the boreal forest of southeastern Norway: the relative importance of livestock and hares at low roe deer densities. European Journal of Wildlife Research 52:237–244.
OLEA, P. P., I. S. SÁNCHEZ-BARBUDO, J. VIÑUELA, I. BARJA, P. MATEO-TOMÁS, A. PINEIRO, R. MATEO, AND F. J. PURROY. 2009. Lack of scientific evidence and precautionary principle in massive release of rodenticides threatens biodiversity: old lessons need new reflections. Environmental Conservation 36:1–4.
ORDIZ, A., O. G. STOEN, S. SAEBO, J. KINDBERG, M. DELIBES, AND J. E. SWENSON. 2012. Do bears know they are being hunted? Biological Conservation 152:21–28.
PAPE, R., AND J. LÖFFLER. 2012. Climate change, land use conflicts, predation and ecological degradation as challenges for reindeer husbandry in Northern Europe: What do we really know after half a century of research? Ambio 41:421–434.
PEARCE, W. B., AND S. W. LITTLEJOHN. 1997. Moral conflict: when social worlds collide. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.
PEREA, R., M. GIRARDELLO, AND A. SAN MIGUEL. 2014. Big game or big loss? High deer densities are threatening woody plant diversity and vegetation dynamics. Biodiversity and Conservation 23:1303–1318.
PETERSON, M. N., T. R. PETERSON, M. J. PETERSON, R. R. LOPEZ, AND N. J. SILVY. 2002. Cultural conflict and the endangered Florida Key deer. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:947–968.
PETERSON, M. N., J. L. BIRCKHEAD, K. LEONG, M. J. PETERSON, AND T. R. PETERSON. 2010. Rearticulating the myth of human-wildlife conflicts. Conservation Letters 3:74–82.
POHJA-MYKRÄ, M., AND S. KURKI. 2014. Strong community support for illegal killing challenges wolf management. European Journal of Wildlife Research 60:759-770.
PRUITT, D. G., AND S. H. KIM. 2004. Social conflict: escalation, stalemate, and settlement. 3erd Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York, USA.
PUTMAN, R. J., P. DUNCAN, AND R. SCOTT. 2005. Demographic changes in a Scottish red deer population (Cervus elaphus L.) in response to sustained and heavy culling: an analysis of trends in deer populations of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve 1986-2001. Forest Ecology and Management 206:263–281.
REDPATH, S. M., J. YOUNG, A. EVELY, W. M. ADAMS, W. J. SUTHERLAND, A. WHITEHOUSE, A. AMAR, R. A. LAMBERT, J. D. C. LINNELL, A. WATT, AND E. J. GUTIÉRREZ. 2013. Understanding and managing conservation conflicts. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 28:100–109.
RIGG, R., S. FINDO, M. WECHSELBERGER, M. L. GORMAN, C. SILLERO-ZUBIRI, AND D. W. MACDONALD. 2011. Mitigating carnivore-livestock conflict in Europe: lessons from Slovakia. Oryx 45:272–280.
RÍOS-SALDAÑA, C. A., M. DELIBES-MATEOS, F. CASTRO, E. MARTÍNEZ, J. M. VARGAS, B. D. COOKE, AND R. VILLAFUERTE. 2013. Control of the European rabbit in central Spain. European Journal of Wildlife Research 59:573–580.
SAARIKOSKI, H., AND K. RAITIO. 2013. Science and politics in old-growth forest conflict in Upper Lapland. Nature and Culture 8:53–73.
SILVA, J. P., J. TOLAND, T. HUDSON, W. JONES, J. ELDRIDGE, E. THORPE, S. BACCHERETI, S. NOTTINGHAM, C. THÉVIGNOT, AND A. DEMETER. 2013. LIFE and human coexistence with large carnivores. Publication office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
SIMÓN, M. A., J. M. GIL-SÁNCHEZ, G. RUIZ, G. GARROTE, G., E. B. MCCAIN, L. FERNÁNDEZ, M. LÓPEZ-PARRA, E. ROJAS, R. ARENAS-ROJAS, T. DEL REY, M. GARCÍA-TARDÍO, AND G. LÓPEZ. 2012. Reverse of the decline of the endangered Iberian lynx. Conservation Biology 26:731–736.
SMART, J. C. R., P. C. L. WHITE, AND M. TERMANSEN. 2008. Modelling conflicting objectives in the management of a mobile resource: Red deer in the Scottish Highlands. Ecological Economics 64:881–892.
STEINER, W., F. LEISCH, AND K. HACKLÄNDER. 2014. A review on the temporal pattern of deer-vehicle accidents: Impact of seasonal, diurnal and lunar effects in cervids. Accident Analysis and Prevention 66:168–181.
SWENSON, J. E., F. SANDEGREN, A. SÖDERBERG, M. HEIM, O. J. SORENSEN, A. BJÄRVALL, R. FRANZÉN, S. WIKAN, AND P. WABAKKEN. 1999. Interactions between brown bears and humans in Scandinavia. Biosphere Conservation 2:1–9.
THIRGOOD, S., R. WOODROFFE, AND A. RABINOWITZ. 2005. The impact of human–wildlife conflict on human lives and Livelihoods. Pp. 13–26 in People and Wildlife. Conflict or Coexistence? (R. Woodroffe, S. Thirgood, and A. Rabinowitz, eds.). Cambridge University Press. Cambrige, United Kingdom.
THOMPSON, H. V., AND C. M. KING. 1994. The European rabbit: the history of a successful colonizer. Oxford University Press. Oxford, USA.
VACLAVIKOVA, M., T. VACLAVIK, AND V. KOSTKAN. 2011. Otters vs. fishermen: Stakeholders’ perceptions of otter predation and damage compensation in the Czech Republic. Journal for Nature Conservation 19:95–102.
VAN LIERE, D., C. DWYER, D. JORDAN, A. PREMIK-BANIC, A. VALENCIC, D. KOMPAN, AND N. SIARD. 2013. Farm characteristics in Slovene wolf habitat related attacks on sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 144:46–56.
WEDLOCK, D. N., M. A. SKINNER, G. W. DE LISLE, AND B. M. BUDDLE. 2002. Control of Mycobacterium bovis infections and the risk to human populations. Microbes and Infection 4:471–480.
YOUNG. J., A. WATT, P. NOWICKI, D. ALARD, J. CLITHEROW, K. HENLE, R. JOHNSON, E. LACZKO, D. MCCRACKEN, S. MATOUCH, J. NIEMELA, AND C. RICHARDS. 2005. Towards sustainable land use: identifying and managing the conflicts between human activities and biodiversity conservation in Europe. Biodiversity Conservation 14:1641–1661.
YOUNG, J., C. RICHARDS, A. FISCHER, L. HALADA, T. KULL, A. KUZNIAR, U. TARTES, Y. UZUNOV, AND A. WATT. 2007. Conflicts between biodiversity conservation and human activities in the central and eastern European countries. Ambio 36:545–550.
YOUNG, J. C., M. MARZANO, R. M. WHITE, D. I. MCCRACKEN, S. M. REDPATH, D. N. CARSS, C. P. QUINE, AND A. D. WATT. 2010. The emergence of biodiversity conflicts from biodiversity impacts: characteristics and management strategies. Biodiversity and Conservation 19:3973–3990.
Published
Issue
Section
License
THERYA is based on its open access policy allowing free download of the complete contents of the magazine in digital format. It also authorizes the author to place the article in the format published by the magazine on your personal website, or in an open access repository, distribute copies of the article published in electronic or printed format that the author deems appropriate, and reuse part or whole article in own articles or future books, giving the corresponding credits.
