Arkansas Forest Resources Center, College of Forestry, Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, AR, 71656-3468, USA.
Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Environ Manage. 2023 Nov;72(5):1061-1071. doi: 10.1007/s00267-023-01879-w. Epub 2023 Sep 6.
Feral swine (FS) (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species that has spread widely across the southern United States, including the West Gulf region. With their rapidly increasing population, they have caused severe damage to landowners. To better understand private landowners' knowledge and attitudes toward FS, we conducted a mail survey in the West Gulf region including Arkansas, Louisiana, and East Texas in 2021. The results indicated that the majority of landowners are familiar with, have overall negative opinions of, and are concerned about the presence and future population growth of FS in this region. Nearly 70% of the private landowners surveyed supported stricter FS control regulations. Logistic regression results further revealed that landowners' supportiveness for FS control regulations is associated with their perceived FS-induced economic damage and ownership characteristics (i.e., age and tenure). These findings shed new light on private landowners' perspectives on FS invasions and control regulations, aiding in developing and implementing FS control/management policies and programs in the West Gulf region and beyond.
野猪（FS）（Sus scrofa）是一种入侵物种，已广泛分布于美国南部，包括墨西哥湾西部地区。由于其种群迅速增加，它们对土地所有者造成了严重的破坏。为了更好地了解私人土地所有者对 FS 的知识和态度，我们于 2021 年在包括阿肯色州、路易斯安那州和东德克萨斯州在内的墨西哥湾西部地区进行了一项邮件调查。结果表明，大多数土地所有者熟悉该地区 FS 的存在及其未来的种群增长，对 FS 的总体看法是负面的，并对此表示担忧。近 70%的接受调查的私人土地所有者支持更严格的 FS 控制法规。逻辑回归结果进一步表明，土地所有者对 FS 控制法规的支持程度与其对 FS 造成的经济损害的感知以及土地所有者的特征（即年龄和任期）有关。这些发现为私人土地所有者对 FS 入侵和控制法规的看法提供了新的视角，有助于在墨西哥湾西部地区及其他地区制定和实施 FS 控制/管理政策和计划。
