The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom
Apex predators were extirpated from the UK hundreds of years ago. Practitioners have recently advocated for reintroductions of predators in the UK given their role as keystone species. For a reintroduction to take place, a survey of public desirability needs to be conducted. We aimed to understand t...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Ecologies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/5/1/4 |
| _version_ | 1827306470209748992 |
|---|---|
| author | Shannon Wilson Marco Campera |
| author_facet | Shannon Wilson Marco Campera |
| author_sort | Shannon Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Apex predators were extirpated from the UK hundreds of years ago. Practitioners have recently advocated for reintroductions of predators in the UK given their role as keystone species. For a reintroduction to take place, a survey of public desirability needs to be conducted. We aimed to understand the perspectives of people across the United Kingdom on the reintroduction of Eurasian lynxes, gray wolves, and brown bears. We collected data via mixed-methods questionnaires from 78 key stakeholders, such as farmers, the general public, nature conservationists, and those in environmental sectors, with these areas being seen as the most affected by these reintroductions. It was organizations that front these stakeholder groups which mainly distributed the survey as well as social media groups. We ran a path analysis, which highlighted that there was a negative correlation between respondents viewing the species as a danger toward livestock and humans, and the respondent seeing it as being good to have that species in their region. Overall, participants who stated that rewilding their region was a priority also stated that it would be good to have Eurasian lynx in their region. That said, 70% of farmers strongly disagreed with the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx. These findings showed that much of the United Kingdom would welcome the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx, but both farmers and the public would fear the loss of livestock that may come along with these species. Support can be gained through education and knowledge, which is a necessary step needed especially targeting farmers before any reintroduction plans can be made. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:21:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0598e2e3f37c46c19d68ce7a1e15ab34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4133 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:21:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-0598e2e3f37c46c19d68ce7a1e15ab342024-03-27T13:34:07ZengMDPI AGEcologies2673-41332024-01-0151526710.3390/ecologies5010004The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United KingdomShannon Wilson0Marco Campera1Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UKDepartment of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UKApex predators were extirpated from the UK hundreds of years ago. Practitioners have recently advocated for reintroductions of predators in the UK given their role as keystone species. For a reintroduction to take place, a survey of public desirability needs to be conducted. We aimed to understand the perspectives of people across the United Kingdom on the reintroduction of Eurasian lynxes, gray wolves, and brown bears. We collected data via mixed-methods questionnaires from 78 key stakeholders, such as farmers, the general public, nature conservationists, and those in environmental sectors, with these areas being seen as the most affected by these reintroductions. It was organizations that front these stakeholder groups which mainly distributed the survey as well as social media groups. We ran a path analysis, which highlighted that there was a negative correlation between respondents viewing the species as a danger toward livestock and humans, and the respondent seeing it as being good to have that species in their region. Overall, participants who stated that rewilding their region was a priority also stated that it would be good to have Eurasian lynx in their region. That said, 70% of farmers strongly disagreed with the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx. These findings showed that much of the United Kingdom would welcome the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx, but both farmers and the public would fear the loss of livestock that may come along with these species. Support can be gained through education and knowledge, which is a necessary step needed especially targeting farmers before any reintroduction plans can be made.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/5/1/4rewildingwolfbearlynxfarmersattitudes |
| spellingShingle | Shannon Wilson Marco Campera The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom Ecologies rewilding wolf bear lynx farmers attitudes |
| title | The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom |
| title_full | The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom |
| title_fullStr | The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom |
| title_short | The Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on the Reintroduction of Apex Predators to the United Kingdom |
| title_sort | perspectives of key stakeholders on the reintroduction of apex predators to the united kingdom |
| topic | rewilding wolf bear lynx farmers attitudes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/5/1/4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shannonwilson theperspectivesofkeystakeholdersonthereintroductionofapexpredatorstotheunitedkingdom AT marcocampera theperspectivesofkeystakeholdersonthereintroductionofapexpredatorstotheunitedkingdom AT shannonwilson perspectivesofkeystakeholdersonthereintroductionofapexpredatorstotheunitedkingdom AT marcocampera perspectivesofkeystakeholdersonthereintroductionofapexpredatorstotheunitedkingdom |