Large carnivore damage in Europe : analysis of compensation and prevention programs

Bautista, Carlos (author), Revilla, Eloy (author), Naves, Javier (author), Albrecht, Jörg (author), Fernandez, Nestor (author), Olszanska, Agneszka (author), Adamec, Michal (author), Berezowska-Cnota, Teresa (author), Ciucci, Paolo (author), Groff, Claudio (author), Jerina, Klemen (author), Jonozovič, Marko (author)

The mitigation of conflicts associated with large carnivore damage to livestock and agriculture is pivotal to their conservation. We evaluate current programs to compensate and prevent large carnivore damage in 27 European countries and the factors related to the economic costs of these programs. Overall, high compensation costs are associated with free-ranging livestock (68% of total costs) and with national economic wealth. Contrary to general belief, the return of large carnivores does not always translate into higher compensation costs. We identify a tendency towards prioritizing compensation over prevention; only a few wealthy countries pay the majority of the money allocated for prevention programs to adapt husbandry practices to the presence of large carnivores. We conclude that programs mainly focused on paying large compensation amounts will often fail to build tolerance towards predators. To mitigate conflicts and optimize the cost-effectiveness of publicly funded measures, responsible agencies should be proactive, focus on prevention-based policies and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of compensation and prevention programs in an adaptive manner. With this purpose and to identify further solutions for conflict mitigation, we call for a pan-European database of damage occurrence, management actions and associated costs.

• Language: English
• Keywords: compensation programs, damage prevention, human-wildlife conflict, large carnivore conservation, wildlife managemen
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: Str. 308-316
• Numbering: Vol. 235
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-114187
• UDC: 630*15:630*45
• ISSN on article: 0006-3207
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.04.019
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5383846
• Publication date in RUL: 19.02.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Biological Conservation
• Shortened title: Biol. Conserv.
• Publisher: Applied Science Publishers
• ISSN: 0006-3207
• COBISS.SI-ID: 26719232

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: odškodninski sistemi, preprečevanje škod, konflikti, ohranjanje velikih zveri, upravljanje živali