The cognitive dimensions of a biological hazard: A study of livestock predation in British Columbia within a hazards framework
Date
2018-06-29
Authors
Wilkerson, Orland Lee
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study focuses on the cognitive dimensions of two important aspects of the predator-livestock problem in British
Columbia: the concrete coping strategies adopted by individual
livestock producers and the institutional responses adopted
by, or available to, the Provincial Wildlife Branch.
The threat posed to domestic stock by wild predators is
conceptualized as a biological hazard, and the advantages of
this approach are discussed. A conceptual framework
integrating theoretical insights from geography, social
psychology, psychology, and political science is developed.
Several hypotheses are derived from this framework, and a
number of these are linked to form two conceptual models, one
designed for an analysis of ranchers' cognitions, the other
for the examination of nonranchers' cognitions. Both models
relate several cognitive variables to the perceived
acceptability of a number of lethal methods of wolf control.
These variables include: ecological orientation (as measured
by the New Environmental Paradigm Scale); attitudes towards
wolves; and perceptions of the wolf threat.
Two mail survey questionnaires were developed, one
(Version A) for nonranchers, the other (Version B) for
ranchers. Version A was satisfactorily completed by a total
of 574 respondents: 259 from the city of Victoria; 95 from
Williams Lake; 87 from Kamloops; and 133 from the Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society (NWWPS). The data from the
three urban samples were combined to form a "general public"
sample. Version B was completed by 283 ranchers.
Questionnaire data were supplemented by the content analysis
of several relevant documents and informal interviews with
selected personnel from the B.C. Wildlife Branch, the ranching
community, and a number of wildlife interest groups.
A variety of statistical techniques, including simple
correlation, multiple regression, analysis of covariance, and
discriminant analysis, were used to analyze the data. The
analyses provided strong support for most of the hypotheses.
Several of the more important findings are noted here. For
all three sample groups (general public, ranchers, and NWWPS),
significant relationships were found between ecological
orientation and attitudes towards wolves; between attitudes
towards wolves and perceptions of the threat that wolves pose
to individual cattle producers and the cattle industry as a
whole; between attitudes towards wolves and the acceptability
of certain lethal wolf control measures; and for nonranchers,
between attitudes towards wolves and the perceived humaneness
of lethal wolf control, and between the perceived humaneness
of lethal wolf control and the acceptability of lethal wolf
control. A number of variables exhibited significant
differences across the groups: ecological orientation;
attitudes towards woIves; and perceptions of the wolf, coyote,
and bear threats.
Several management implications suggested by the research
are discussed and a number of policy recommendations and suggestions for further research are offered.
Description
Keywords
Predatory animals, British Columbia, Wolves, control, British Columbia