Abstract
Carnivore conservation is considered essential because the species offer significant benefits to biodiversity. However, their predation on ungulates reduces ungulate populations with subsequent effects on hunters' harvests and welfare. In this paper, we use the hedonic price method to estimate the effects of large carnivores on hunting lease prices. We disentangle the impact of carnivores through their effect on game harvest from their effect on hunters' preferences. Results reveal that lynx impose a significant economic cost to owners of hunting rights due to the predation of game. On average, the implicit cost of an additional lynx family is SEK 1.51 million (EUR 0.162 million) per year, and with 95% certainty, the cost per lynx family is at least SEK 340 thousand (EUR 36.6 thousand) per year.
Highlights
Contemporary conservation of large carnivores is a success story in many parts of Europe (Chapron et al, 2014; Linnell et al, 2001) and a source of intense debate around the world (Gangaas et al, 2013; Lüchtrath and Schraml, 2015)
In most of the specifications, we find a significant and positive effect of game harvest on hunting lease prices, suggesting that bag size of game species is a key determinant of hunters' willingness to pay for the right to hunt on a given land area
We found no significant evidence of the impact of wolves on game harvest and lease prices
Summary
Contemporary conservation of large carnivores is a success story in many parts of Europe (Chapron et al, 2014; Linnell et al, 2001) and a source of intense debate around the world (Gangaas et al, 2013; Lüchtrath and Schraml, 2015). The aim of this paper is to estimate the effect of the presence of large carnivores on hunting lease prices and, to identify the associated cost of carnivores to hunters and landowners in Sweden. To achieve this goal, the following empirical strategy is used. Half of the forest land is owned by individuals, one third is owned by private companies, and the remainder is directly or indirectly owned by the government and other public institutions. > 90% of the agricultural land is owned by individuals, and the remainder is owned by companies, public institutions, and the government
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
