Emotions shape attitudes towards wolf conservation management in the Italian Alps

Abstract

Across Europe, wolves are recolonizing former habitats, but frictions between wolves and people remain a challenge. Better understanding of attitudes towards existing management practices is essential to devise wolf management that better considers societal aspects. In this study, we focus on a case study in the Italian Alps, where we conducted a quantitative survey to investigate attitudes towards wolf management. We used multiple regression analysis to determine which factors such as emotions and knowledge or belonging to a particular stakeholder group explained variations in attitudes towards wolf management. We found that almost half of our respondents felt scared about the presence of wolves, and that people who had less factually correct knowledge about wolves were more afraid than people who had better factual knowledge. Farmers reported significantly higher ratings of anger, fear, and frustration than the general population. We found that anger and fascination were significant predictors for attitudes towards management, but that fear, factual knowledge, education level and connectedness to nature were not. Our findings support further stakeholder engagement to take seriously and address the range of emotions of stakeholders that impact public support for wolf management and co-existence in the cultural landscapes of the Italian Alps.