A multidisciplinary approach to estimating wolf population size for long-term conservation

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Italian regulation of management and hunting of Alpine and Appenine ungulates

Italian law 157/92 regulates management of wildlife, declaring it an “indispensable state heritage” belonging to the general public; regional laws ensure its application and coordination by lower-level public territorial agencies. Provinces are responsible for territorial planning, supervision and control of wildlife. The Ambiti Territoriali di Caccia (ATC) (Territorial Hunting Areas) and Comprensori Alpini (CA) (Alpine Districts) manage a territory’s wildlife. These sub-provincial units are directed by councils comprising hunters, farmers, environmentalists and representatives from local bureaus, along with wildlife technicians for census, capture, introduction, and environmental improvement. This collective management of wildlife and hunting has required the establishment of special regulations. Our study analyzed and compared regulations regarding the management of ungulates in the Appenines (roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, mouflon) and the Alps (roe deer, red deer, chamois). The study considered the six ATC for the Tuscan Appenines, 14 CA of the alpine zone in the Piedmont region and three CA of the alpine zone of the Valle d’Aosta region. A complete picture was required for each authority in order to provide a detailed analysis of the regulations and explain certain choices. General data were gathered regarding total and agro-silvo-pastoral land surface and for each species regarding: average density, number of active hunters, bag limits permitted by culling plans, percentage of animals actually taken compared to the estimated population. For each species information was gathered on the regulation of the wildlife/hunting management: number/size of hunting districts, average size of the minimum management unit in a district, census method and period, number of types of killing, hunting season. For species present in both areas (roe deer and red deer) the greatest differences concerned census methods and hunting season; these were due to different environmental and climatic conditions and to choices of a local nature

Attitudes du public à l'égard des loups et de leur conservation dans les Alpes autrichiennes, françaises, italiennes et slovènes

The existence of large carnivores depends on successful coexistence with humans. Large carnivore conservation is also influenced by how they are perceived by particular stakeholder groups. To collect the opinions of stakeholders we have carried out an attitude survey. In this study of public attitudes toward wolves and wolf conservation, we’ve surveyed 7610 respondents from sixteen previously identified core areas for wolf conservation across Austria, France, Italy and Slovenia. Groups that were surveyed were residents of core areas (general public), hunters, farmers (we use the word farmers for presenting livestock breeders in this report), education professionals, tourism workers, members of environmental NGOs and journalists.In the Italian, French and Slovenian core areas the majority of respondents described themselves as being in favour of wolves and also supporting their conservation. In Austrian core areas, large majorities of respondents described themselves as being against wolf and not supporting its conservation. However, contrary to most of the other core areas, Austrian core areas and one Italian core area were sampled only via online questionnaires while other areas used a mix of different sampling methods. The sampling methods could have caused a bias in the data. Moreover, in Austrian core areas the majority of answers come from farmers and hunters

A multidisciplinary approach to estimating wolf population size for long‐term conservation

From Wiley via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2022-10-06, rev-recd 2023-02-06, accepted 2023-05-23, epub 2023-07-28Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedFunder: EC LIFE Programme; Grant(s): LIFE18NAT/IT/000972Funder: Research Council of Norway; Grant(s): NFR 286886The wolf (Canis lupus) is among the most controversial of wildlife species. Abundance estimates are required to inform public debate and policy decisions, but obtaining them at biologically relevant scales is challenging. We developed a system for comprehensive population estimation across the Italian alpine region (100,000 km2), involving 1513 trained operators representing 160 institutions. This extensive network allowed for coordinated genetic sample collection and landscape‐level spatial capture–recapture analyses that transcended administrative boundaries to produce the first estimates of key parameters for wolf population status assessment. Wolf abundance was estimated at 952 individuals (95% credible interval 816–1120) and 135 reproductive units (i.e., packs) (95% credible interval 112–165). We also estimated that mature individuals accounted for 33–45% of the entire population. The monitoring effort was spatially estimated thereby overcoming an important limitation of citizen science data. This is an important approach for promoting wolf–human coexistence based on wolf abundance monitoring and an endorsement of large‐scale harmonized conservation practices

A multidisciplinary approach to estimating wolf population size for long‐term conservation

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2022-10-06, accepted 2023-05-23, epub 2023-07-28, issued 2023-07-28, published 2023-07-28Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedAbstractThe wolf (Canis lupus) is among the most controversial of wildlife species. Abundance estimates are required to inform public debate and policy decisions, but obtaining them at biologically relevant scales is challenging. We developed a system for comprehensive population estimation across the Italian alpine region (100,000 km2), involving 1513 trained operators representing 160 institutions. This extensive network allowed for coordinated genetic sample collection and landscape‐level spatial capture–recapture analyses that transcended administrative boundaries to produce the first estimates of key parameters for wolf population status assessment. Wolf abundance was estimated at 952 individuals (95% credible interval 816–1120) and 135 reproductive units (i.e., packs) (95% credible interval 112–165). We also estimated that mature individuals accounted for 33–45% of the entire population. The monitoring effort was spatially estimated thereby overcoming an important limitation of citizen science data. This is an important approach for promoting wolf–human coexistence based on wolf abundance monitoring and an endorsement of large‐scale harmonized conservation practices