Attitudes toward predator control in the United States: 1995 and 2014

Predator control policies in the United States shifted in the latter half of the 20th century, largely in response to public outcry. However, few studies have assessed attitudes toward predator control at the national level. We replicated measures from a 1995 study that assessed attitudes toward predator management in the United States. We sought to determine if public support for predator management and perceptions of the humaneness of specific management practices changed over the past 2 decades. A web-based questionnaire was used to survey a representative sample of United States residents. The survey instrument contained items designed to assess attitudes toward predator management in general and the humaneness of specific predator management practices (lethal and nonlethal). We found relatively minor shifts in attitudes toward predator management, but many of the management practices assessed were rated significantly less humane than in the previous survey. Respondents were generally supportive of predator management aimed at losses of agricultural or private property; however, nonlethal methods were perceived to be far more humane than lethal methods. Our findings suggest that the public is generally supportive of predator control, but increasingly skeptical of the methods employed in control actions.