Programa de Doctorado en Medicina de la Conservación, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, República 440, Santiago, Chile; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia Animal y Ecosalud, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Edificio de Postgrado, Ciudad Universitaria, Zona 12, Guatemala.
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 550 N Park St, Madison, WI, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2019 Jan 1;229:67-75. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.035. Epub 2018 Aug 22.
Free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris) significantly threaten wildlife, including endangered species. Although this problem resembles threats from other invasive animals, managing roaming dogs is even more fraught due to their close association with humans. Here we use interviews (n = 166) to document patterns of dog ownership and care and to measure public attitudes toward management strategies to control free-roaming dogs that threaten wildlife in rural areas of southern Chile. We compare attitudes toward lethal control and fines in scenarios where dogs attack livestock, children or wild animals or enter protected areas. We also test for variation in attitudes according to gender, age, education and proximity to urban areas. Most respondents (98.1%) opposed lethal control for at least one scenario and they were more likely to accept killing dogs that attacked sheep than those attacking wildlife. Similarly, support for fines was higher when dogs attacked livestock or people versus wild animals. Respondents consistently favored fining the owner over eliminating the problem dog. When asked about their management preferences, many respondents indicated that the movement of problem dogs-including to a lesser extent those threatening wildlife-should be restricted. However, in practice most dog-owners allowed one or more of their dogs to move freely at least part of the time. Finally, the wildlife species of concern mattered, e.g. 40% thought no action was necessary when dogs attack foxes, but this dropped to 12% for pudu (a small deer). In sum, participants had significantly more concern for livestock and human safety than for wildlife protection. We close by discussing management and policy implications.
散养犬（Canis familiaris）对野生动物构成了重大威胁，包括濒危物种。尽管这个问题类似于其他入侵动物带来的威胁，但由于犬类与人类关系密切，管理流浪犬的问题更加复杂。在这里，我们通过访谈（n=166）来记录犬只饲养和照顾的模式，并衡量公众对管理策略的态度，以控制在智利南部农村地区威胁野生动物的流浪犬。我们比较了在犬只攻击牲畜、儿童或野生动物或进入保护区的情况下，对致命控制和罚款的态度。我们还根据性别、年龄、教育程度和与城市地区的距离来测试态度的变化。大多数受访者（98.1%）反对至少一种情况下的致命控制，他们更倾向于杀死攻击绵羊的犬只，而不是攻击野生动物的犬只。同样，当犬只攻击牲畜或人类而不是野生动物时，支持罚款的比例更高。当被问及他们的管理偏好时，许多受访者表示，应该限制有问题犬只的流动——包括在较小程度上威胁野生动物的犬只。然而，在实践中，大多数犬只主人允许一只或多只犬只至少在部分时间内自由移动。最后，受关注的野生动物物种很重要，例如，当犬只攻击狐狸时，40%的人认为不需要采取行动，但当犬只攻击普度鹿（一种小鹿）时，这一比例下降到 12%。总之，参与者对牲畜和人类安全的关注程度明显高于对野生动物保护的关注程度。最后，我们讨论了管理和政策的影响。
