Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses
Abstract Variation in the legal status and management of wolves ( Canis lupus ) across EU Member States provides a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of different practices to reduce livestock losses. This opportunity for testing is particularly useful for lethal interventions, as they are a...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/conl.12994 |
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crwiley:10.1111/conl.12994 2024-06-02T08:05:02+00:00 Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses Kutal, Miroslav Duľa, Martin Selivanova, Alisa Royer López‐Bao, José Vicente 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/conl.12994 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Conservation Letters volume 17, issue 1 ISSN 1755-263X 1755-263X journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12994 2024-05-03T11:13:35Z Abstract Variation in the legal status and management of wolves ( Canis lupus ) across EU Member States provides a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of different practices to reduce livestock losses. This opportunity for testing is particularly useful for lethal interventions, as they are among the most controversial actions within the large carnivore management toolbox. We aimed to test a conservation compromise adopted in Slovakia, based on a public wolf‐hunting scheme and annual hunting quotas between 2014 and 2019, and partially justified to reduce livestock losses. We assessed whether this hunting scheme influenced livestock depredation levels (at the district level). Wolves in the area fed mainly on wild ungulates (98.9% of consumed biomass). While domestic sheep comprised only 0.5% of the diet, they were dominant among the reported livestock killed by wolves (91.1%). Using two different approaches, we did not observe a relationship between the number of killed wolves and livestock losses. Alternatively, a negative relationship between wild prey biomass and livestock losses was found. Since 2021, public wolf hunting has not been conducted in Slovakia, and there is no merit in the previous justification for this conservation compromise to reduce livestock losses. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Wiley Online Library Conservation Letters 17 1 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract Variation in the legal status and management of wolves ( Canis lupus ) across EU Member States provides a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of different practices to reduce livestock losses. This opportunity for testing is particularly useful for lethal interventions, as they are among the most controversial actions within the large carnivore management toolbox. We aimed to test a conservation compromise adopted in Slovakia, based on a public wolf‐hunting scheme and annual hunting quotas between 2014 and 2019, and partially justified to reduce livestock losses. We assessed whether this hunting scheme influenced livestock depredation levels (at the district level). Wolves in the area fed mainly on wild ungulates (98.9% of consumed biomass). While domestic sheep comprised only 0.5% of the diet, they were dominant among the reported livestock killed by wolves (91.1%). Using two different approaches, we did not observe a relationship between the number of killed wolves and livestock losses. Alternatively, a negative relationship between wild prey biomass and livestock losses was found. Since 2021, public wolf hunting has not been conducted in Slovakia, and there is no merit in the previous justification for this conservation compromise to reduce livestock losses. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kutal, Miroslav Duľa, Martin Selivanova, Alisa Royer López‐Bao, José Vicente |
spellingShingle |
Kutal, Miroslav Duľa, Martin Selivanova, Alisa Royer López‐Bao, José Vicente Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
author_facet |
Kutal, Miroslav Duľa, Martin Selivanova, Alisa Royer López‐Bao, José Vicente |
author_sort |
Kutal, Miroslav |
title |
Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
title_short |
Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
title_full |
Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
title_fullStr |
Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses |
title_sort |
testing a conservation compromise: no evidence that public wolf hunting in slovakia reduced livestock losses |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/conl.12994 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Conservation Letters volume 17, issue 1 ISSN 1755-263X 1755-263X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12994 |
container_title |
Conservation Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1800749774939357184 |