Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
April 1991
Abstract
Animal rights advocates are a vocal and active segment of the public who are likely to protest the killing of animals to reduce wildlife-caused damage. Wildlife damage management frequently involves killing damage-causing animals. Most media portrayals of wildlife damage management programs emphasize the killing of wildlife, and so inherently evoke a negative response from the public. The goals of this paper are to help wildlife damage managers better understand animal rights advocates and to suggest possible means to reduce conflicts. To meet these goals, the animal rights movement is placed in a historical perspective with regard to the animal welfare movement and associated legislation. Demographic characteristics of animal rights advocates are described. The implications of the animal rights movement for managers and management of wildlife-caused damage are presented. Finally, I present recommendations for addressing the animal rights movement and animal rights advocates that should be useful to managers of wildlife-caused damage.