Elusive effects of legalized wolf hunting on human-wolf interactions

IF 12.5 1区综合性期刊 Q1 MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Science Advances Pub Date : 2025-08-20 DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adu8945

Leandra M. Merz, Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg, Nicolas T. Bergmann, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Neil H. Carter

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Abstract

Expanding gray wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Europe and North America contribute to increased risks of livestock predation, which can threaten human livelihoods and lead government agencies to target wolves for lethal removal. Public wolf hunting is a highly contentious strategy for mitigating these risks, yet few empirical studies examine its effectiveness in doing so. Using difference-in-differences and structural equation modeling of data from the northwestern US between 2005 and 2021, we analyzed impacts of wolf hunting on livestock predation by wolves and government removal of wolves in the same year and with a 1-year time lag while controlling for social and environmental variables. We found that public wolf hunting had a small negative effect on livestock predation but had no effect on government lethal removal of wolves in the same or subsequent years. Our findings challenge the assumption that wolf hunting is an effective management strategy for reducing livestock predation and lethal removal.

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合法猎狼对人狼互动的难以捉摸的影响

在欧洲和北美，灰狼（Canis lupus）数量的增加增加了牲畜被捕食的风险，这可能威胁到人类的生计，并导致政府机构以狼为目标进行致命的清除。公共猎狼是一种极具争议的减轻这些风险的策略，但很少有实证研究检验其有效性。利用差异中的差异和结构方程模型对2005年至2021年美国西北部的数据进行分析，在控制社会和环境变量的情况下，在同一年和1年的时间滞后条件下，分析了猎狼对狼捕食牲畜和政府捕杀狼的影响。我们发现，公众猎狼对牲畜捕食有轻微的负面影响，但对政府在同一年或之后的几年中对狼的致命清除没有影响。我们的研究结果挑战了猎狼是减少牲畜捕食和致命清除的有效管理策略的假设。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Science Advances 综合性期刊-综合性期刊

CiteScore

21.40

自引率

1.50%

发文量

1937

审稿时长

29 weeks

期刊介绍： Science Advances, an open-access journal by AAAS, publishes impactful research in diverse scientific areas. It aims for fair, fast, and expert peer review, providing freely accessible research to readers. Led by distinguished scientists, the journal supports AAAS's mission by extending Science magazine's capacity to identify and promote significant advances. Evolving digital publishing technologies play a crucial role in advancing AAAS's global mission for science communication and benefitting humankind.