Increasing game prices may alter farmers' behaviours towards leopards (Panthera pardus) and other carnivores in South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Human-carnivore conflict occurs globally, particularly in regions where large carnivores predate livestock. Retaliatory killings do occur, and although predation of livestock by carnivores happens, losses from other factors such as disease or injury can be misattributed because of landowner perceptions. Game farming for both trophy hunting and eco-tourism is becoming increasingly common in South Africa, and there has been a rapid increase in the cost of game animals (in some species as much as five-fold) between 2010 and 2015. This could result in an increase in conflict between commercial game farmers and carnivores. We conducted two questionnaire surveys of farmers in 2010 and 2015 to investigate this. We asked if there had been changes in farming practices, perceived predator activity,

SUBMITTER: Pirie TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5452990 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature