Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Shoot shovel and sanction yourself: Self-policing as a response to wolf poaching among Swedish hunters

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Ambio Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Self-policing is essential for addressing wildlife-related crime where illegal activity is extremely diffuse, and limited resources are available for monitoring and enforcement. Emerging research on self-policing suggest key drivers including economics, folk traditions, and socio-political resistance. We build on this research with a case study evaluating potential drivers of self-policing illegal wolf killing among Swedish hunting teams. Swedish hunters marginally leaned toward considering illegal hunting of wolves an expression of resistance (10.30 out of a possible 17 on a resistance scale) and strongly believed outsiders had undue influence over hunting (15.79 out of a possible 21 on an influence scale). Most (73%) Swedish hunters stated they would report illegal wolf killing to authorities, but 20% stated they would handle the infractions through internal sanctions. Viewing illegal hunting of wolves as a form of political resistance, viewing wolf management as being controlled locally, and perceived prevalence of illegal wolf killing among hunting acquaintances were positive predictors of preferring internal sanctions to address illegal wolf killing over reporting the crimes. Resistance and perceived prevalence of wolf killing also predicted preferring no action to address illegal wolf killing. These results suggest that a counterpublic of marginalized ruralism may promote forms of self-policing that rely on internal censure for illegal wolf killing rather than using formal legal channels. Similarly, folk traditions within this counterpublic (e.g., perceptions of prevalence of illegal wolf killing) shape if and how internal sanctions are advocated. Re-engaging marginalized hunting groups and emphasizing the rarity of illegal wolf killing may promote wolf conservation, both in Sweden and in other democratic regimes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bashari, M., E. Sills, M.N. Peterson, and F. Cubbage. 2018. Hunting in Afghanistan: Variation in motivations across species. Oryx 52: 526–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisi, J., S. Kurki, M. Svensberg, and T. Liukkonen. 2007. Human dimensions of wolf (Canis lupus) conflicts in Finland. European Journal of Wildlife Research 53: 304–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisi, J., T. Liukkonen, S. Mykrä, M. Pohja-Mykrä, and S. Kurki. 2010. The good bad wolf—wolf evaluation reveals the roots of the Finnish wolf conflict. European Journal of Wildlife Research 56: 771–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brymer, R.A. 1991. The emergence and maintenance of a deviant sub-culture: The case of hunting/poaching sub-culture. Anthropologica 33: 177–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunnefeld, N., C.T.T. Edwards, A. Atickem, F. Hailu, and E.J. Milner-Gulland. 2013. Incentivizing monitoring and compliance in trophy hunting. Conservation Biology 27: 1344–1354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapron, G., and A. Treves. 2016. Blood does not buy goodwill: Allowing culling increases poaching of a large carnivore. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283: 20152939.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R.B., and M.R. Trost. 1998. Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and compliance. In The handbook of social psychology, ed. D.T. Gilbert, S.T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey, 151–192. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epp, R., and D. Whitson. 2001. Writing off the rural west: Globalization, governments and the transformation of rural communities. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, C.J., R. Gramling, and G. Wooddell. 1998. The game of poaching: Folk crimes in southwest Louisiana. Society & Natural Resources 11: 25–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavin, M.C., J.N. Solomon, and S.G. Blank. 2010. Measuring and monitoring illegal use of natural resources. Conservation Biology 24: 89–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gezelius, S.S. 2002. Do norms count? State regulation and compliance in a Norwegian fishing community. Acta Sociologica 45: 305–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gliem, J.A., and R.R. Gliem. 2003. Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-type scales. In Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education.

  • Gunn, A.S. 2001. Environmental ethics and trophy hunting. Ethics & the Environment 6: 68–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagstedt, J., and L. Korsell. 2012. Unlawful hunting of large carnivores in Sweden. In Eco-global crimes: Contemporary problems and future challenges, ed. R. Ellefsen, R. Sollund, and G. Larsen, 209–231. London: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanna, E. 2006. Fair chase: To where does it lead? In The culture of hunting in Canada, ed. J. Manore and D.G. Miner, 239–276. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, H.P., M.N. Peterson, and C. Jensen. 2012. Demographic transition among hunters: A temporal analysis of hunter recruitment dedication and motives in Denmark. Wildlife Research 39: 446–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heberlein, T.A. 1991. Changing attitudes and funding for wildlife: Preserving the sport hunter. Wildlife Society Bulletin 19: 528–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiedanpää, J., J. Pellikka, and S. Ojalammi. 2016. Meet the parents: Normative emotions in Finnish wolf politics. Trace: Finnish Journal for Human-Animal Studies 2: 4–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, G. 2016. Conservation crime as political protest. In The Routledge international handbook of rural criminology, ed. J. Donnermeyer, 309–315. New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kahler, J.S., and M.L. Gore. 2012. Beyond the cooking pot and pocket book: Factors influencing noncompliance with wildlife poaching rules. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 36: 103–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaltenborn, B.P., O. Andersen, and J.D.C. Linnell. 2013. Is hunting large carnivores different from hunting ungulates? Some judgments made by Norwegian hunters. Journal for Nature Conservation 21: 326–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knezevic, I. 2009. Hunting and environmentalism: Conflict or misperceptions. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 14: 12–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krange, O., and K. Skogen. 2007. Reflexive tradition: Young working–class hunters between wolves and modernity. Young 15: 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kypri, K., S. Stephenson, and J. Langley. 2004. Assessment of nonresponse bias in an internet survey of alcohol use. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research 28: 630–634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liberg, O., G. Chapron, P. Wabakken, H.C. Pedersen, N.T. Hobbs, and H. Sand. 2012. Shoot, shovel and shut up: Cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279: 910–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnell, J.D. 2013. From conflict to co-existence? Insights from multi-disciplinary research into the relationship between people, large carnivores and institutions. European Commission: Istituto di Ecologia Applicata.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, M.A., J.E. Cross, T.O.C. Shelley, and S. Kutnjak Ivković. 2013. The normative order of reporting police misconduct: Examining the roles of offense seriousness, legitimacy, and fairness. Social Psychology Quarterly 76: 242–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mischi, J. 2013. Contested rural activities: Class, politics and shooting in the French countryside. Ethnography 14: 64–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muth, R.M., and J.F. Bowe Jr. 1998. Illegal harvest of renewable natural resources in North America: Toward a typology of the motivations for poaching. Society & Natural Resources 11: 9–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naturvårdsverket. 2017. 2016/17 Rovdjursinventering Varg, Stockholm. ISBN 978-91-620-8785-2.

  • Nurse, A. 2011. Policing wildlife: Perspectives on criminality in wildlife crime. Proceedings of the British Criminology Conference 11: 38–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ojalammi, S., and N. Blomley. 2015. Dancing with wolves: Making legal territory in a more-than-human world. Geoforum 62: 51–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellikka, J., H. Lindén, H. Rita, and M. Svensberg. 2007. Motives for voluntary wildlife monitoring in Finnish hunting teams. Wildlife Biology 13: 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pels, T., and D.J. de Ruyter. 2012. The influence of education and socialization on radicalization: An exploration of theoretical presumptions and empirical research. Child & Youth Care Forum 41: 311–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peltola, T., and J. Heikkilä. 2015. Response-ability in wolf–dog conflicts. European Journal of Wildlife Research 61: 711–721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, M.N. 2004. An approach for demonstrating the social legitimacy of hunting. Wildlife Society Bulletin 32: 310–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pohja-Mykrä, M. 2016. Illegal hunting as rural defiance. In The Routledge international handbook of rural criminology, ed. J. Donnermeyer, 329–337. New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J.C. 2008. Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skogen, K., and O. Krange. 2003. A wolf at the gate: The anti-carnivore alliance and the symbolic construction of community. Sociologia Ruralis 43: 309–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stretesky, P.B., S.T. O’Connor, and M.S. Crow. 2010. Do conservation organizations influence the production of natural resource violations?. Organization & Environment 23: 398–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suutarinen, J., and I. Kojola. 2017. Poaching regulates the legally hunted wolf population in Finland. Biological Conservation 215: 11–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Essen, E. 2016. In the gap between legality and legitimacy: Illegal hunting in Sweden as a crime of dissent. Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.

  • von Essen, E. 2017. The impact of modernization on hunting ethics: Emerging taboos among contemporary Swedish hunters. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 23: 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Essen, E., and M.P. Allen. 2017. From obstructionism to communication: Local, national and transnational dimensions of contestations on the Swedish wolf cull controversy. Environmental Communication 11: 654–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Essen, E., H.P. Hansen, H.N. Källström, M.N. Peterson, and T.R. Peterson. 2014. Deconstructing the poaching phenomenon: A review of typologies for understanding illegal hunting. British Journal of Criminology 54: azu022.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Essen, E., H.P. Hansen, H.N. Källström, M.N. Peterson, and T.R. Peterson. 2015. The radicalisation of rural resistance: How hunting counterpublics in the Nordic countries contribute to illegal hunting. Journal of Rural Studies 39: 199–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Essen, E., H.P. Hansen, H.N. Källström, M.N. Peterson, and T.R. Peterson. 2016. Between social and criminal justice. In The Routledge international handbook of rural criminology, ed. J. Donnermeyer, 319–327. New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wall, T., and B. McClanahan. 2015. Weaponizing conservation in the ‘heart of darkness’: The war on poachers and the neocolonial hunt. In Environmental crime and social conflict contemporary and emerging issues, ed. A. Brisman, N. South, and R. White, 221–238. Burlington: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. 2016. Re-conceptualising folk crime in rural contexts. In The Routledge international handbook of rural criminology, ed. J. Donnermeyer, 299–307. New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wille, M. 2017. Countering radicalisation and violent extremism: The role of Norwegian higher education institutions. Thesis. Oslo: University of Oslo.

  • Williams, B., A. Onsman, and T. Brown. 2010. Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine 8: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank North Carolina State University, The University of Texas at El Paso, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and FORMAS for supporting this work. We also thank our Associate Editor E. C. Keskitalo and two anonymous reviewers for constructive advice needed to improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA

    M. Nils Peterson

  2. Division of Environmental Communication, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Erica von Essen

  3. Section of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Denmark

    Hans Peter Hansen

  4. Department of Communication and Program in Environmental Science & Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, USA

    Tarla Rai Peterson

Authors
  1. M. Nils Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Erica von Essen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hans Peter Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tarla Rai Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Nils Peterson.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 169 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peterson, M.N., von Essen, E., Hansen, H.P. et al. Shoot shovel and sanction yourself: Self-policing as a response to wolf poaching among Swedish hunters. Ambio 48, 230–239 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1072-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1072-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation