Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting

After centuries of persecution in Europe, large carnivores are now recovering. Whether this conservation success continues depends in part on public support. Here we show, using a survey of 10,000 respondents across European Union Member States, that while support for the recovery of wolves, bears a...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Chapron, Guillaume, Epstein, Yaffa, Bruskotter, Jeremy T., López-Bao, José V.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/420103
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/420103
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105022912297
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Conservation biology
Social policy
id ES_e3fcab75b41a33eeefb5f3c0de3b8bdc
oai_identifier_str oai:digital.csic.es:10261/420103
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and huntingChapron, GuillaumeEpstein, YaffaBruskotter, Jeremy T.López-Bao, José V.Conservation biologySocial policyAfter centuries of persecution in Europe, large carnivores are now recovering. Whether this conservation success continues depends in part on public support. Here we show, using a survey of 10,000 respondents across European Union Member States, that while support for the recovery of wolves, bears and lynx remains strong, most respondents oppose both further population growth and hunting—particularly of wolves. Attitudes are remarkably consistent across rural and urban populations, and many respondents express no strong position, suggesting that large carnivores are less polarizing than often portrayed. The recent amendment to the Habitats Directive, which grants Member States greater flexibility to manage their wolf populations, appears broadly aligned with public opinion, as long as its implementation does not lead to population declines. However, the presence of views in tension—rejecting both population growth and hunting— may pose challenges for designing policies that are both science based and supported by the public.Open access funding provided by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. We acknowledge funding from the Swedish Research Council VR grants 2018-10-22 and 2020-04973 to G.C. and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation grant PID2023-149634OB-I00 to J.V.L.-B.Peer reviewedSpringer NatureSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesSwedish Research CouncilMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)Chapron, Guillaume [0000-0002-6727-1070]Epstein, Yaffa [0000-0003-0843-5714]López-Bao, José V. [0000-0001-9213-998X]Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/420103https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105022912297reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2023-149634OB-I00Chapron, Guillaume; Epstein, Yaffa; Bruskotter, Jeremy T.; López-Bao, José V.; 2025; Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting [Dataset]; Dryad; https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w6m905r2k; http://hdl.handle.net/10261/420112https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02914-1Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/4201032026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
title Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
spellingShingle Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
Chapron, Guillaume
Conservation biology
Social policy
title_short Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
title_full Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
title_fullStr Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
title_full_unstemmed Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
title_sort Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Chapron, Guillaume
Epstein, Yaffa
Bruskotter, Jeremy T.
López-Bao, José V.
author Chapron, Guillaume
author_facet Chapron, Guillaume
Epstein, Yaffa
Bruskotter, Jeremy T.
López-Bao, José V.
author_role author
author2 Epstein, Yaffa
Bruskotter, Jeremy T.
López-Bao, José V.
author2_role author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Swedish Research Council
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
Chapron, Guillaume [0000-0002-6727-1070]
Epstein, Yaffa [0000-0003-0843-5714]
López-Bao, José V. [0000-0001-9213-998X]
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Conservation biology
Social policy
topic Conservation biology
Social policy
description After centuries of persecution in Europe, large carnivores are now recovering. Whether this conservation success continues depends in part on public support. Here we show, using a survey of 10,000 respondents across European Union Member States, that while support for the recovery of wolves, bears and lynx remains strong, most respondents oppose both further population growth and hunting—particularly of wolves. Attitudes are remarkably consistent across rural and urban populations, and many respondents express no strong position, suggesting that large carnivores are less polarizing than often portrayed. The recent amendment to the Habitats Directive, which grants Member States greater flexibility to manage their wolf populations, appears broadly aligned with public opinion, as long as its implementation does not lead to population declines. However, the presence of views in tension—rejecting both population growth and hunting— may pose challenges for designing policies that are both science based and supported by the public.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/420103
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105022912297
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/420103
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105022912297
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2023-149634OB-I00
Chapron, Guillaume; Epstein, Yaffa; Bruskotter, Jeremy T.; López-Bao, José V.; 2025; Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting [Dataset]; Dryad; https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w6m905r2k; http://hdl.handle.net/10261/420112
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02914-1
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869422551552229377
score 15.811543

Similares en LA Referencia