Negative attitudes towards predators do not necessarily result in their killing

Letter.M. DELIBES-MATEOS is supported by a JAE-doc contract (Programa Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios), funded by CSIC and the European Social Fund.Peer Reviewe

Confictos de conservación involucrando a mamíferos en Europa

[EN]: 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 impacts”, 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.[ES]: Los conflictos asociados a la gestión de la fauna se han incrementado en tiempos recientes. Los conflictos de conservación ocurren cuando dos o más partes con opiniones fuertemente enfrentadas chocan sobre objetivos de conservación, y cuando una parte mantiene firme sus intereses en detrimento de los de otra. Normalmente los conflictos de conservación surgen de los impactos sobre o de la fauna, definidos como circunstancias donde la gente, consciente o inconscientemente, impacta negativamente en la fauna, o cuando ésta causa efectos negativos en el bienestar o sustento de las personas o en la biodiversidad. En Europa los conflictos de conservación más frecuentes son probablemente aquellos relacionados con la gestión de los depredadores. Por ejemplo, los grandes carnívoros depredan sobre el ganado o las especies de caza, pero al mismo tiempo son especies bandera para la conservación. Por lo tanto, los conflictos sobre cómo se deberían de gestionar estas especies son habituales. La gestión de los ungulados que impactan negativamente en la vegetación natural así como la de los pequeños mamíferos que causan daños a los cultivos también provoca frecuentes enfrentamientos en Europa. El estado global de conservación de los mamíferos europeos conflictivos es bastante bueno. Sin embargo, algunas de sus poblaciones están amenazadas, al menos en parte por la caza ilegal y el furtivismo. Por lo tanto, es necesario realizar esfuerzos importantes para mitigar estos conflictos en estas áreas. Además, se debería de promover la investigación multidisciplinar de los conflictos de conservación para conocerlos mejor y en última instancia para mitigarlos.M. Delibes-Mateos has received funding from Consejería de Economía, Inovación, Ciencia y Empleo of Junta de Andalucía, and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement 267226.Peer Reviewe

Mascotas que se establecen en la naturaleza: cerdos vietnamitas que viven en libertad en España

[EN]: Vietnamese potbellied (VPB) pigs (Sus scrofa) are a common pet in North America and Europe, but their recent decrease in popularity has increased their abandonment. Our main aim was to identify potential cases of free-living VPB pigs in Spain through an in-depth Google search. We identified 42 cases of free-living VPB pigs distributed throughout the country. The number of free-living VPB pigs reported increased by year but the species abundance still seems to be low. Signs of VPB pig reproduction and possible hybrids between VPB pigs and wild boar or feral pigs have been also reported. Free-living VPB pigs could erode the gene pool of the Spanish wild boar population and exacerbate the damage (e.g. crop damage or spread of diseases) already caused by wild board. Urgent evaluation and adequate management of wild VPB pig sightings is needed to prevent their establishment in natural habitats.[ES]: Los cerdos vietnamitas (Sus scrofa) son una mascota habitual en Norteamérica y Europa; sin embargo, su popularidad ha disminuido recientemente y esto ha provocado que se abandonen cada vez más. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es identificar casos de cerdos vietnamitas que viven en libertad en España a través de una búsqueda exhaustiva en Google. Se han identificado 42 casos de cerdos vietnamitas que viven en libertad distribuidos por todo el país. El número de casos aumenta cada año, aunque la abundancia de la especie aún parece ser baja. También se han observado indicios de que los cerdos vietnamitas se reproducen en libertad y de posibles híbridos de éstos con jabalíes o cerdos asilvestrados. El hecho de que los cerdos vietnamitas vivan en libertad podría reducir el patrimonio genético de la población española de jabalí, así como agravar los daños que este ya causa en España (como los daños a cultivos o los accidentes de tráfico). Con vistas a evitar que se establezcan en hábitats naturales, es urgente evaluar y gestionar debidamente las observaciones de cerdos vietnamitas salvajes.M. Delibes–Mateos was supported by a JAE–doc contract (Programa Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios), funded by CSIC and the European Social Fund.Peer Reviewe

Presencia del topillo campesino ibérico, Microtus arvalis asturianus Miller, 1908, en la meseta del Duero

Up to date the lberian common vole, Microtus arvalis asturianus, it was considered as an exclusive inhabitant of some mountainous chains of Central and Northern Spain. However it has been found in pellets of Tyío alba from different localities of the Duero Plain (Tab. 1 and Fig. 1), where the annual rainfall is under 400 mm. and biological drought occurs for over four months of the year

Hunting for sustainability: a summary of research findings from Spain

The HUNTing for Sustainability multi-discplinary research project has been funded by the European Union’s 7th Framework Research Programme. The project involved cooperation with a range of institutions and included case studies from Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The primary research activity in Spain has been related to assessing costs and benefits of different management styles for red-legged partridge hunting.N

Wild rabbit management in the Iberian Peninsula: state of the art and future perspectives for Iberian lynx conservation

The Iberian lynx, the most endangered cat in the world, is presently found only in two isolated populations in southern Spain. Natural expansion from these populations is limited which turns Iberian lynx reintroduction programs into the only alternative to save the species from extinction. Prey availability is one of the top considerations for predator reintroductions. In this paper, we review the state of the art regarding wild rabbit (lynx¿s main prey) biology, status and management in the Iberian Peninsula, and future perspectives for Iberian lynx conservation. Historically, wild rabbits have sharply declined in the Iberian Peninsula, mainly as a consequence of habitat loss and the arrival of viral diseases. Most Iberian rabbit populations are still declining so different management techniques are employed to revert this scenario. Population monitoring, adjusting hunting pressure, predator control, habitat management, restocking and rabbit vaccination are the most frequently employed management tools. Surprisingly, strong empirical evidence is still lacking to support the usefulness and impact of most of these management techniques. Hence, for the success of future Iberian lynx reintroductions, efforts need to be made to suppress knowledge gaps of rabbit ecology and management at several levels, namely: the study of basic biological parameters from natural free populations, the implementation of an Iberian rabbit monitoring framework based on standardised rabbit monitoring protocols (that produces systematic and periodic comparable results), the study of the impact of predator control, the assessment of both the costs vs. benefits of vaccinating wild rabbits against viral diseases and the effectiveness of habitat management. Finally, the creation of a working platform congregating researchers, hunters and game managers, conservationists and further sectors involved in wild rabbit management is essential for the definition of a global strategy that defends collective interests and serves the ultimate goal of conserving this lagomorph.M. Delibes-Mateos is currently holding a Juan de la Cierva research contract awarded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the European Social Fund.Peer Reviewe

(De)legitimising hunting – discourses over the morality of hunting in Europe and eastern Africa

et al.Hunting is an activity that appears to provoke – often immediate and strongly pronounced – moral assessments, i.e., judgments of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. A large body of literature explores these moral arguments, often from a philosophical or normative perspective, focusing on specific types of hunting. However, studies that ground such explorations in empirical, systematically analysed, yet contextualised data seem to be missing. We argue that such an approach is essential to understand conflicts over hunting and wildlife management, and present data from focus group discussions and interviews with hunters, non-hunters and hunting critics across six countries in Europe and eastern Africa. Our findings suggest that moral arguments play an extremely important role in the legitimation and delegitimation of hunting practices through discourse. In particular, study participants referred to the motives of hunters as a factor that, in their eyes, determined the acceptability of hunting practices. Moral argumentations exhibited patterns that were common across study sites, such as a perceived moral superiority of the ‘moderate’ and ‘measured’, and a lack of legitimacy of the ‘excessive’. Implicit orders of hunting motives were used to legitimise types of hunting that were suspected to be contested. On the basis of these findings, we discuss how the moral elements of hunting discourses relate to broader discourses on environmental management, and how these are used to establish (or dispute) the legitimacy of hunting . Our analysis also suggests that there might be more overlap between moral arguments of hunters, non-hunters and hunting critics than popularly assumed, which, where required, could be used as a starting point for conflict management.This work was conducted as part of HUNT-Hunting for Sustainability (http://fp7hunt.net/) and funded by the European Union’s Framework Programme 7 as well as the authors’ organisations.Peer reviewe