The Impact of Lynx and Wolf on Roe Deer Hunting Value in Sweden 2002-2012
Elofsson Katarina  1@  , Tobias Häggmark Svensson  2@  
1 : Södertörn University College  (SH)  -  Website
141 89 Huddinge -  Sweden
2 : Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences  (SLU)  -  Website
S-750 07 Uppsala -  Sweden

 

Large carnivores provide ecosystem and cultural benefits but also impose costs on livestock owners, due to predation, and on hunters, due to the competition for game. The benefits as well as the costs that accrue to livestock owners have been studied, but this is not the case for the costs that accrue to hunters. The aim of this paper was to identify the impact of lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolf (Canis lupus) on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) hunting value. We applied a production function approach, using a bioeconomic model where the number of roe deer harvested was assumed to be jointly determined by hunting effort, abundance of predators, availability of other game, and climatic conditions. The impact of the predators on the roe deer harvests was estimated econometrically, and carnivore impacts for a constant and adjusted, steady state hunting effort were derived. The results showed that the marginal cost in terms of hunting values foregone varied between the counties and ranged between 18,000 and 58,000 EUR for lynx and 79,000 and 336,000 EUR for wolf. Larger costs were found in counties where the hunting effort was high, mainly located in south Sweden. The regional variation in costs has implications for decisions on policies affecting the regional distribution of wolf and lynx.


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