Volume 26, July 2015, Pages 1–8
Abstract
The
release of farm-reared animals for shooting causes frequent conflicts
between hunters and conservationists, since, while this management
practice is economically important in some game areas, it carries
several risks for biodiversity conservation (e.g. the introduction of
new pathogens or the release of alien species and/or hybrids). However,
these conflicts have received little attention in the literature. In
particular, social-psychological factors, which are very important
driving conservation conflicts, have been often ignored in the study of
releases. Our main goal was to examine attitudes and beliefs of game
managers towards the release of farm-reared red-legged partridges in
small-game estates within central Spain, where more than 3 million
partridges are released annually. Data were collected through face to
face interviews with 45 game managers. More than 70% of the interviewed
managers expressed negative views towards releases, and these included
arguments about their detrimental effect on natural partridge
populations, their low effectiveness, and their consideration as
artificial hunting. Very negative views predominated among managers who
had never released partridges (mostly those of non-commercial estates),
and were frequently expressed by those who released partridges
occasionally. In contrast, positive views were mostly given by managers
who released partridges annually, and arguments used generally referred
to the economic benefits of releases. Some managers expressed at the
same time both positive and negative views on releases (i.e. ambivalent
position). These findings suggest that there exists a relative
polarisation among game managers, and that the position of those who
were very critical of releases is close to that of conservationists. Our
results also suggest that managers’ decision-making regarding releases
is likely influenced by a variety of beliefs and attitudes as well as
the socioeconomic setting (e.g. economic interest in the outcome of the
behaviour). This highlights that the study of different aspects,
including social and psychological as well as economic, is essential for
understanding and resolving conservation conflicts, such as those
caused by releases.
Keywords
- Alectoris rufa;
- Attitude–behaviour relationship;
- Conservation conflicts;
- Interview survey;
- Managers’ decision-making;
- Psychological factors
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