Acceptance of illegal wolf hunting in Norway

Large carnivore management is heavily contested within Norwegian society. Compliance with the environmental laws and regulations regarding large carnivores is miscellaneous, and a (mutual) distrust between authorities and... [ view full abstract ]

Large carnivore management is heavily contested within Norwegian society. Compliance with the environmental laws and regulations regarding large carnivores is miscellaneous, and a (mutual) distrust between authorities and segments of the population has developed. A case in point is the management of wolves and the corresponding extensive illegal wolf hunt. Some estimates stats that up to 50 percent of all deaths among wolves in Scandinavia is due to poaching. By focusing on how the general public judge such crime, this paper follow up on the claim that illegal hunting of wolves are politically motivated – that they are crimes of dissent. To that end, we investigate the prevalence of illegal wolf hunt (IWH) acceptance in the Norwegian population, in what segments of society IWH acceptance is most prevalent and if such disobedient opinions are associated with a broader spectrum of defiant and anti-elitist sentiments. 3032 respondents from the TNS Gallup-panel completed the questionnaire, covering a wide range of topics concerning the issue. IWH is generally not accepted. 67 percent stated that IWH is unacceptable, 17 percent had no opinion and 16 percent reported that they accept IWH. Acceptance was more prevalent in older age groups, among men (compared to women) and among people who live in small rural towns. However, not among hunters and people live in areas where wolves exist. Acceptance was associated low trust in government, scientists and environmental NGO, political alienation anti elite sentiments. People who accept IWH is prone to reject anthropocentric climate change, report skepticism towards immigrants and asylum seekers, and they tend to believe that IWH acceptance is very common in their own community. Acceptance of IWH thrive in segments of Norwegian society where government lacks legitimacy and where central powers are challenged on a more general level.