Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Abstract
Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Policy makers are increasingly encouraging farmers to protect or enhance habitat on their farms for wildlife conservation. However, a lack of knowledge of farmers’ opinions toward wildlife can lead to poor integration of conservation measures. We surveyed farmers to assess their perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from perching birds, raptors, and bats—three taxa commonly targeted by conservation measures. The majority of farmers thought that perching birds and bats were beneficial for insect pest control and that raptors were beneficial for vertebrate pest control; however, fruit farmers viewed perching birds more negatively than did farmers growing other crops. Farmers using organic methods viewed all three wildlife groups more positively than conventional farmers. Farmer perception toward each wildlife group predicted their action to either attract or deter those taxa, suggesting the need to focus research and outreach on the effects of wildlife on farms for conservation programs to positively influence farmer perceptions.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights Information
© 2017 The Authors.
Recommended Citation
Kross, S.M., Ingram, K.P., Long, R.F. and Niles, M.T. (2018), Farmer Perceptions and Behaviors Related to Wildlife and On‐Farm Conservation Actions. CONSERVATION LETTERS, 11: e12364. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12364
DOI
10.1111/conl.12364