Frank, Jens
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Sustainable wildlife management should, amongst others, safeguard human health. This study concerns rural residents' perceived quality of life and the potential effect of large carnivores (LCs) on psychological health outcomes (life satisfaction, anxiety symptoms, and exhaustion). One group of rural residents that appears to be especially vulnerable when the number and range of LCs increase is sheep owners. 279 participants (rural residents without livestock n =114, livestock owners without sheep n = 103, and sheep owners n = 62) completed a survey on rural living also including established instruments to assess psychological health outcomes. Rural residents without livestock were mainly positive while sheep owners were mainly negative towards presence of LCs. Sheep owners reported lower life satisfaction, more anxiety symptoms, and more exhaustion symptoms as compared to other livestock owners and rural residents as a group. However elevated stress and anxiety symptoms among sheep owners seem to be an outcome of accumulated stress due not only to the presence of LCs, but also due to problems to reach the break even point economically. The results are discussed in terms of the overall situation for livestock owner.
Keywords
Livestock; Large carnivores; Sheep owners; Psychological health; STICSA; KEDS; SWLS
Published in
Journal of Rural Studies
2025, volume: 120, article number: 103863
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Fish and Wildlife Management
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103863
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/143819