The costs of livestock depredation by large carnivores

Marit Widman () and Katarina Elofsson
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Marit Widman: Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Postal: Department of Economics, Box 7013, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

No 2016:5, Working Paper Series from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department Economics

Abstract: Livestock depredation by large carnivores entails economic damage to farmers in many parts of the world. The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare the costs of livestock depredation by carnivores across different carnivore species and regions. To this end, we estimate the government’s compensation cost function. This study uses Swedish data on the county level over the period of 2001 to 2013. Compensation costs due to depredation by three large carnivores are considered: the brown bear (Ursus arctos), the wolf (Canis lupus) and the lynx (Lynx lynx). The results indicate that the costs of compensation for depredation by wolves, lynx and brown bears are determined by the densities of predators and livestock, the amount of forest pasture and the stock of preventive measures. There are considerable differences in marginal costs between predator species and counties, which have implications for policy.

Keywords: Wildlife compensation; Livestock depredation; Lynx; Wolf; Brown bear; Sheep. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q28 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2016-04-26
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:slueko:2016_005

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