The impact of lynx and wolf on roe deer hunting benefits in Sweden

Katarina Elofsson,Tobias Häggmark

doi:10.1007/s10018-020-00299-y

Abstract

Large carnivores provide ecosystem and cultural benefits but also impose costs on hunters due to the competition for game. The aim of this paper was to identify the marginal impact of lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolf (Canis lupus) on the harvest of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Sweden and the value of this impact. We applied a production function approach, using a bioeconomic model where the annual number of roe deer harvested was assumed to be determined by hunting effort, abundance of predators, availability of other game, and winter severity. The impact of the predators on the roe deer harvests was estimated econometrically, and carnivore marginal impacts were derived. The results showed that if the roe deer resource was harvested under open access, the marginal cost in terms of hunting values foregone varied between different counties, and ranged between 18,000 and 58,000 EUR for an additional lynx family, and 79,000 and 336,000 EUR for an additional wolf individual. Larger marginal costs of the wolf, in terms of the impact on roe deer hunting, were found in counties where the hunting effort was high and the abundance of moose (Alces alces) was low. If instead, hunters could exert private property rights to the resource, the average marginal cost was about 20% lower than it would have been if there was open access, and the difference in wolf impact between counties with high and low moose density was smaller. Together, results suggest that the current plan for expanding the wolf population in south Sweden can be associated with a substantial cost.

Highlights

Hunting is an important leisure activity, which generates significant economic activity and tends to increase land values (Pinet 1995; Lecocq 2004; Mattsson et al 2008; US Fish and Wildlife Service 2018; Hussain et al 2013)
The Swedish Hunters Association has estimated that the reduction in hunting value due to carnivores is about 50 million EUR per year1 (Svensk Jakt 2009), and the Norwegian forest owner organization has claimed that the wolf (Canis lupus) causes a loss of property value equal to about 100 million EUR (Norskog 2018)
We calculated the harvest impact of carnivores for a given effort level and so obtained the reduction in harvest necessary to reach a new biological equilibrium. This measure is different from estimations of kill rates because the latter do not consider either hunting effort adjustments or equilibrium conditions

Summary

Introduction

Hunting is an important leisure activity, which generates significant economic activity and tends to increase land values (Pinet 1995; Lecocq 2004; Mattsson et al 2008; US Fish and Wildlife Service 2018; Hussain et al 2013). Large wild carnivores can have a considerable impact on game species populations, and the resulting competition for game creates conflicts between the hunters and the predators. This has led to a reduced predator abundance (Graham et al 2005). Claims for compensation have been raised in connection with increased wolf population numbers and cancelled wolf license hunting in central Sweden (Vargfakta 2011), and when a genetically important wolf was translocated from the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) herding areas in northern Sweden, where the national wolf management policy places strong restrictions on its abundance (EPA 2014a), to a county in central Sweden (Lövbom 2013). In the absence of policies to overcome conflicts between conservation and hunting interests, carnivores are poached by hunters opposing carnivore conservation (Gangaas et al 2013; Rauset et al 2016; von Essen and Allen 2017), thereby challenging conservation aims (Andrén et al 2006; Persson et al 2009; Liberg et al 2011)

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Conclusion