How Attitudes are Shaped: Controversies Surrounding Red Deer Management in a National Park

Abstract

Attitude surveys among affected groups are established tools for integrating actors into decision-making concerning wildlife management. However, the complexity of attitudes and the fact that general attitudes toward wildlife may differ from those toward specific management measures reveal the risk of misinterpreting the data obtained. This article explores these problems based on a quantitative survey of hunters and landowners living close to the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany. The aim of the study was to identify factors that affected peoples' attitudes toward red deer management. Two variables predominantly influenced interviewees' answers: First, their land use interests, and second, their regional affiliation, the latter resulting in differences in the relationship between interviewees and park administration. We conclude that traditional concepts of grouping people based on land use interests may neglect case-specific, actual group structures. Attitudes toward wildlife-related issues might be superimposed by attitudes toward issues other than those originally addressed.