The Return of Large Carnivores and Extensive Farming Systems: A Review of Stakeholders’ Perception at an EU Level

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Large carnivores and husbandry practices are important contributors to biodiversity integrity. However, conflicts that may arise when carnivores and livestock share the same areas may undermine both carnivore conservation and the maintenance of husbandry activities. Through the revision of the existing literature regarding human–carnivore conflict at a European Union (EU) level, our work aimed to assess stakeholders’ perception towards large carnivores (bear and wolf). The results showed that those categories (i.e., rural inhabitants and hunters), which were affected the most by the presence of carnivores were those who showed the most negative attitude. We showed that direct experience with carnivores has led the opinion of certain categories to become more negative. Furthermore, we did not find differences in terms of degree of tolerance by comparing areas in which carnivores and humans have coexisted for centuries and areas in which carnivores were extirpated. In the light of carnivore population dynamics, we recommend monitoring changes in attitudes over time to define appropriate solutions aimed at mitigating carnivore impacts. ABSTRACT: Conflicts between large carnivores and human activities undermine both the maintenance of livestock practices as well as the conservation of carnivores across Europe. Because large carnivore management is driven by a common EU policy, the purpose of this research was to assess stakeholders’ perception towards bears and wolves at an EU level. We conducted a systematic search and subsequent analysis of 40 peer-reviewed studies collected from 1990 to September 2020 within Member States of the EU. Rural inhabitants and hunters exhibited the most negative attitude compared to urban inhabitants and conservationists, whose attitude was more positive. We showed that direct experience with predators as a consequence of ongoing re-colonization may have affected the degree of acceptance of certain categories and that the long-term coexistence between humans and carnivores does not necessarily imply increased tolerance. To encourage coexistence, we recommend monitoring changes in attitudes over time relative to carnivore population dynamics.