Life Sciences Commons^™

A Survey Of The General Public Assessing Public Attitudes Toward Animal Damage Control Management Policy, Douglas K. Reiter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A mail survey of randomly selected stratified U.S. households assessed general attitudes toward wildlife and specific concerns about wildlife damage management and the federal Animal Damage Control program. Respondents strongly supported federal government's role in ensuring public safety, engaging in public education, and continuing research into nonlethal control methods. Weaker support was found for lethal control of predators and crop depredators, and financial compensation for losses due to wildlife activities was generally opposed. Lethal methods of control were generally considered to be inhumane and nonlethal methods humane. When asked to rank the importance of factors to be considered when selecting …