Short communicationDealing with conflicts between people and colonizing native predator species

- Landowners perceived predators more negatively than did hunters.
- The predators management tool considered the best was landowners capturing alive.
- The overall perception of the mongoose was that it is harmful.
- Most of the landowners were willing to pay to control the mongoose populations.
- Mongoose management costs could be partially offset by hunters.

The conflicts associated with the return of flagship species and the consequences of exotic species invasion have been extensively assessed, but there is a lack of information about conflicts derived from the colonization of common native species. The present study aims to assess the perception of different profiles of stakeholders regarding the spread of a native medium-sized mammal found in Spain: the case of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon L.), which can compromise the conservation of rabbit and red-legged partridge and the economic activity of rural areas. Using a sample of 116 landowners and 251 hunters and multiple bounded uncertainty choice data, we analyzed the stakeholders' perception of predators, the stakeholders' preferences of different management measures for predator control, and the role of local people for controlling the Egyptian mongoose.