Vervaecke Hilde, Van Dessel Thaana, Galbusera Peter, Mergeay Joachim
Agro-and Biotechnology Research Group, Odisee University of Applied Sciences, Hospitaalstraat 21, Sint-Niklaas 9100, Belgium.
Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Koningin Astridplein 20-26, Antwerp 2018, Belgium.
R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Mar 19;12(3):231931. doi: 10.1098/rsos.231931. eCollection 2025 Mar.
At the time of the wolf's () recolonization in Flanders, public perspectives on this species were not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a survey gathering demographic and contextual data to explore the relationship between these factors and public perspectives on wolves. We defined perspectives as: attitudes towards wolves, perceptions as whether they belong in Belgium, their mode of arrival, and attitudes towards wolf-related conflicts. Using redundancy analysis, we identified key explanatory variables, including hunting, residency, education, age, gender and dog ownership. Although these factors were significantly associated with perspectives on wolves, their explanatory power was limited, except for being a hunter. Notably, hunters generally had negative perspectives on wolves; however, hunters who stated they had negative attitudes towards hunting showed more positive perspectives on wolves. Conversely, non-hunters with positive attitudes towards hunting showed more negative perspectives. Attitudes towards hunting emerged as the strongest explanatory variable and may serve as a useful proxy for researchers studying wolf perspectives. Recognizing the diversity of stakeholder perspectives, particularly attitudes towards hunting, and underlying ethics could enhance the effectiveness of wolf conservation management.
在狼重新出现在佛兰德地区时，公众对该物种的看法还不太清楚。为了填补这一空白，我们开展了一项调查，收集人口统计和背景数据，以探究这些因素与公众对狼的看法之间的关系。我们将看法定义为：对狼的态度、它们是否属于比利时的认知、它们的到来方式以及对与狼相关冲突的态度。通过冗余分析，我们确定了关键的解释变量，包括狩猎、居住情况、教育程度、年龄、性别和是否养狗。尽管这些因素与对狼的看法显著相关，但它们的解释力有限，除了身为猎人这一因素。值得注意的是，猎人通常对狼持负面看法；然而，那些表示对狩猎持负面态度的猎人对狼的看法更为积极。相反，对狩猎持积极态度的非猎人则表现出更负面的看法。对狩猎的态度成为最强的解释变量，可能为研究狼的看法的研究人员提供有用的参考。认识到利益相关者观点的多样性，特别是对狩猎的态度以及潜在的伦理观念，可能会提高狼保护管理的有效性。
