摘要：One of the most important human-wildlife conflicts in the world is that where predators are involved. Predatorsmay compete with us for the same resources, such as game species. As a consequence, predators have been frequently controlledby game managers, which has negatively affected many predator populations worldwide. The understanding of human-wildlifeconflicts requires a multidisplicinary framework that is rarely considered. We aim to evaluate the attitudes and behavior of gamemanagers with regard to predator management in central Spain, as well as to explore factors that lead to these attitudes andbehavior. Data were gathered through face to face interviews with game managers from 59 small-game hunting estates withincentral Spain. Predator control was employed in 90% of the estates, but control intensity was very variable among estates.Economic interests and perceptions about predators apparently influenced variation in control intensity. The main methodsemployed were cage-traps and shooting, but some illegal practices (e.g., leg-hold traps or snares without stopping devices) werealso admittedly used for carnivores. Most managers considered that efficacy of legal methods for control of foxes (Vulpes vulpes)was very limited. Overall, nonselective methods, such as some types of snares, were more frequently employed in commercialthan in noncommercial estates. Most managers believed that predators had an important effect on prey, and therefore that notdoing it would lead to smaller hunting bags. Only managers from commercial hunting estates used stronger discourses such asthat hunting would be impossible without carrying out predator control, which suggests that their tolerance for predators waslower than that of managers whose main motivation was not economic. Most managers considered that predator control waseffective to reduce the number of predators, but only in the short term. Therefore, they highlighted the need of maintainingpredator control every year. Our results highlight the important role that both social and economic factors (even stronger thanecological factors) play driving predator control, and therefore the need of incorporating these factors when making decisionsto mitigate the human-predator conflict
关键词：attitudes towards predators; game management; human-wildlife conflicts; perceptions; Pica pica; Vulpes vulpes
