Reconsidering the role of the built environment in human–wildlife interactions

You Are Not Welcome! A Media Analysis of Risk Factors, Prevalence and Management of Free-Roaming Dogs in Iran

History has witnessed a long-term relationship between humans and animals. Historical documents and modern findings prove that humans' needs to use animals for companions or services are commonplace in many parts of the world, leading to the domestication of certain animals. Yet, modern societies have degraded many natural habitats for wildlife, confining them to small patches of landscapes or urban areas. Whether a domesticated/free-roaming animal or a wild species, their close contact with humans can create cumbersome situations for both species. This paper explores a link between online media content and on-the-ground efforts to manage free-roaming dogs as a rare case study. As indicated by news articles, the municipal costs of managing free-roaming dogs in Iranian cities have increased, and this can potentially derail the control of such dogs in the long run. This paper lays out pivotal factors for recent increasing human-animal encounters, which have led to many challenges (e.g., rabies) across cities in Iran. We show that some urban features (e.g., topography) can influence the presence and behaviours of free-roaming animals in the cities. The findings of this paper can be related to other developing countries where the plague of rabies is rising.

Understanding Wildlife Crime from Eco-Existential and African Perspectives: A Psycho-Philosophical Investigation

Wildlife crime has huge consequences regarding global environmental changes to animals, plants and the entire ecosystem. Combatting wildlife crime effectively requires a deep understanding of human-wildlife interactions and an analysis of the influencing factors. Conservation and green criminology are important in reducing wildlife crime, protecting wildlife and the ecosystem and informing policy-makers about best practices and strategies. However, the past years have shown that wildlife crime is not easy to combat and it is argued in this article that there are underlying existential "givens" and culture-specific aspects that need to be investigated to understand why wildlife crime is still on the rise. This theoretical article explores (eco-)existential perspectives, Greening's four givens and selected African philosophical concepts, aiming to understand the complexities behind the prevalence of wildlife crime within global and African contexts.

Mapping Micro-Level Decision-Making for Alligator Management in North Carolina

Human-carnivore interactions represent a grand challenge to conservation decision-making and legitimacy across all levels of governance. Human populations continue to encroach upon and devastate carnivore habitats and populations, intensifying interactions between a variety of biodiversity interests and beneficiaries. As a result, carnivores most intensely impact those living in their midst, demanding increased attention by local decision makers, who are often best suited to catering to the needs of communities most affected. Their views and desires can serve as a forerunner of public trust and acceptance of policies created. However, due to the complexity of decisions about carnivores, these actors are often overlooked in the formal decision process. To address this need, we applied multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to a case study of American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) conservation in 10 coastal North Carolina counties to identify and postulate legitimate outcomes. We surveyed 25 local decision makers who are or may be responsible for management decisions concerning the American alligator and asked them to evaluate and indicate the level of importance of salient alligator management elements. Results indicate that decision makers strongly favored the wildlife and social factors when making alligator management decisions, as well as the criteria human well-being, attitudes toward alligators, education programs, and storm mitigation. Respondents favored highly managed and balanced management alternatives to maximize preferred criteria and achieve legitimate alligator management at the local level. These results demonstrate that local decision makers are capable of identifying what is important to alligator management decisions, and can provide an insightful look at trade-offs that need to or could be made to achieve optimal alligator outcomes. We conclude that local decision makers should become more involved in shaping carnivore outcomes to enhance legitimacy of alligator policy and help achieve conservation targets. Future research will need to further expand understandings of local decision makers' decision-making process in other carnivore contexts. Researchers will want to consider using and refining decision analysis to cut through the complexity of carnivore conservation decision-making that exists across wide geopolitical expanses.