<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>A survey was carried out to determine the attitudes of the general public and of hunters towards wolves (Canis lupus) in Latvia. Today wildlife conservation depends on effective management practices; however, these are often influenced by public opinions and attitudes. Our aim was to understand the causes behind these attitudes and to compare our results with previous research done in Latvia. Questionnaires were distributed through schools and hunter organisations. The attitudes of both the general public and hunters were mostly neutral or positive. Older people and women were generally less positive. Respondents with less positive attitudes were more likely to say that wolf numbers in the country should be decreased. Significant associations between attitudes, beliefs of wolves causing damage and financial losses and what should be done with wolf numbers in Latvia were found. Three attitude predictors were established.</p></abstract>

A survey was carried out to determine the attitudes of the general public and of hunters towards wolves (Canis lupus) in Latvia. Today wildlife conservation depends on effective management practices; however, these are often influenced by public opinions and attitudes. Our aim was to understand the causes behind these attitudes and to compare our results with previous research done in Latvia. Questionnaires were distributed through schools and hunter organisations. The attitudes of both the general public and hunters were mostly neutral or positive. Older people and women were generally less positive. Respondents with less positive attitudes were more likely to say that wolf numbers in the country should be decreased. Significant associations between attitudes, beliefs of wolves causing damage and financial losses and what should be done with wolf numbers in Latvia were found. Three attitude predictors were established.

Attitudes of the General Public and Hunters Towards Wolves in Latvia; Its Predictors and Changes Over Time

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A survey was carried out to determine the attitudes of the general public and of hunters towards wolves (Canis lupus) in Latvia. Today wildlife conservation...

Attitudes of the General Public and Hunters Towards Wolves in Latvia; Its Predictors and Changes Over Time

Published Online: Sep 22, 2020

Page range: 280 - 286

Received: Feb 18, 2019

Accepted: Sep 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2020-0043

Keywords
attitude predictors, Canis lupus, conservation, management

© 2020 Agrita Žunna et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Attitudes of the General Public and Hunters Towards Wolves in Latvia; Its Predictors and Changes Over Time

Published Online: Sep 22, 2020

Page range: 280 - 286

Received: Feb 18, 2019

Accepted: Sep 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2020-0043

Keywordsattitude predictors, Canis lupus, conservation, management

© 2020 Agrita Žunna et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
attitude predictors, Canis lupus, conservation, management