Tolerance of wolves in Wisconsin: A mixed-methods examination of policy effects on attitudes and behavioral inclinations

Numerous studies report majorities of survey respondents hold positive attitudes toward wolves. However, a 2001-2009 panel study found declining tolerance of wolves among residents of Wisconsin's wolf range. Poaching, believed to be increasing, has been an important source of mortality in Wisconsin's wolf population since the 19805. We conducted focus groups, with an accompanying anonymous questionnaire survey of participants, among farmers and hunters in Wisconsin's wolf range to gain a more indepth understanding of attitudes towards wolves and inclinations to poach wolves. Whereas our study was originally designed to examine the effects of an experimental lethal-control program on inclination to poach, oscillating wolf-management authority shifted our focus from a single intervention to a suite of changes in policy and management. Following federal delisting of the Western Great Lakes wolf population in January 2012, Wisconsin implemented lethal-depredation control and created the state's first legalized wolf-harvest season in October 2012. We convened focus groups before and after these changes. Pre- and post-survey results showed majorities of respondents held negative attitudes toward wolves with no decrease in inclination to poach, suggesting lethal-control measures, in the short term, may be ineffective for increasing tolerance. Participants expressed favorable attitudes toward lethal-control measures, but believed there were limitations in the implementation of the lethal-control measures. Focus group discussions revealed elements of positivity toward wolves not revealed by questionnaires, as well as several thematic areas, such as fear, empowerment, and trust, that may inform the development of interventions designed to increase tolerance of wolves and other controversial species. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.