Illegal hunting is a pervasive menace for many carnivore species in livestock-wildlife shared lands. Carnivore conservation under such socio-ecological context demands a comprehensive understanding of hunting drivers as well as alternatives for problem resolution. To contribute overcoming retaliation against carnivores we developed a holistic approach to address ranchers' non-compliance by understanding together: the context, magnitude, effectiveness, and motivations underlying illegal hunting. We surveyed sheep ranches across southern Chilean Patagonia where culpeo fox, chilla fox and puma cooccur and prey upon sheep. Sheep depredation occurred in 85 % ranches, accounting for 3.5 % of total holdings. Other sources of sheep mortality emerged equally sizeable or even higher than predation. Culpeo fox was the main predator across the region, and the most persecuted. Although hunting was significantly related to its perceived effectiveness, livestock guardian dogs conversely were asserted as the most effective tool for protecting the herds. Ranches where hunting is applied suffered significantly more predation than those where LGDs are deployed. Personal norms, perception towards carnivores, damage levels and ranchers' characteristics significantly related to hunting likelihood, yet their effects varied between species. Our approach advances in demonstrating clear opportunities for livestock-carnivores coexistence arising from a comprehensive understanding of the full context of the predation-retaliation problem, and the multiple drivers of hunting in a species-by-species basis. Such opportunities lie fundamentally in acknowledging all sources of livestock loss, the encouragement to adopt LGDs, and fostering pro-carnivore attitudes based on the ecological benefits they provide in rangelands.