Game managers' views on the release of farm-reared red-legged partridges in hunting estates within central Spain

The release of farm-reared animals for shooting causes frequent conflicts between hunters and conservationists, since, while this management practice is economically important in some game areas, it carries several risks for biodiversity conservation (e.g. the introduction of new pathogens or the release of alien species and/or hybrids). However, these conflicts have received little attention in the literature. In particular, social-psychological factors, which are very important driving conservation conflicts, have been often ignored in the study of releases. Our main goal was to examine attitudes and beliefs of game managers towards the release of farm-reared red-legged partridges in small-game estates within central Spain, where more than 3 million partridges are released annually. Data were collected through face to face interviews with 45 game managers. More than 70% of the interviewed managers expressed negative views towards releases, and these included arguments about their detrimental effect on natural partridge populations, their low effectiveness, and their consideration as artificial hunting. Very negative views predominated among managers who had never released partridges (mostly those of non-commercial estates), and were frequently expressed by those who released partridges occasionally. In contrast, positive views were mostly given by managers who released partridges annually, and arguments used generally referred to the economic benefits of releases. Some managers expressed at the same time both positive and negative views on releases (i.e. ambivalent position). These findings suggest that there exists a relative polarisation among game managers, and that the position of those who were very critical of releases is close to that of conservationists. Our results also suggest that managers' decision-making regarding releases is likely influenced by a variety of beliefs and attitudes as well as the socioeconomic setting (e.g. economic interest in the outcome of the behaviour). This highlights that the study of different aspects, including social and psychological as well as economic, is essential for understanding and resolving conservation conflicts, such as those caused by releases.