A new ecology study has posited a strong link between sanctioned hunting and poaching ofendangered/threatened large carnivores.
Written by Professors Guillaume Chapron (Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, Sweden) and Adrian Treves (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, 30A Science Hall, 550 North Park Street, Madison, WI, USA) and published by the Royal Society, the study analyzes the relationship between government mandated hunting (referred to as “culling” from here on out) of large carnivores such as wolves and bears.
Entitled “Blood does not buy goodwill: allowing culling increases poaching of a large carnivore,” the study analyzes management tactics of wildlife agencies in Wisconsin and Michigan between 1994 and 2012, specifically management of native wolf populations. The study also highlights management practices in Sweden, Minnesota, and other locales. You can read the full study here.
The study outlines the rationale of state wildlife agencies, to wit: “that liberalizing culling will reduce poaching and improve population status of an endangered carnivore.” In truth, Chapron and Treves, culling has the opposite effect, that poaching increased when culling was permitted—four times as much, on average.
Placing Value On The Individual
Chapron and Treves’ thesis, regarding the link between culling and poaching, is simple: people feel more inclined to poach a large carnivore when they see a government official do it too.
Further, while poaching may be illegal in such a management paradigm, since it’s not technically illegal to kill these large carnivores, as it would be, for instance, under the Endangered Species Act, individual wolves are devalued from a conservation standpoint. The act of hunting alone makes them more expendable. From Chapron and Treves:
When the government kills a protected species, the perceived value of each individual of that species may decline; so liberalizing wolf culling may have sent a negative message about the value of wolves or acceptability of poaching. Our results suggest that granting management flexibility for endangered species to address illegal behavior may instead promote such behaviour.
Source: New Study Claims Culling of Large Carnivores (Wolves, Bears) Spurs Poaching – Yellowstone Insider