Fight or Flight? Understanding Different Stakeholder Responses to Conservation Conflicts

Figures & data

Figure 1. Summary of the three narratives (cooperation, despondence and resistance) and their construction. Larger boxes illustrate the main arguments under each theme (small boxes on left). Arrows represent the way in which these arguments collectively justified a particular action.

Table A1. Six key themes, identified and defined by a thematic narrative analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key stakeholders involved in raptor monitoring (RM) and grouse moor management (GK) in Scotland.

Theme	Definition
1. Power & agency	References to the distribution of power among actors, and one’s own ability to enact change. e.g. “I could witter on like this for hours, but what good would it do? Nobody listens” (13, GK)
2. Accountability	Where responsibility currently lies for actions within the conflict, the degree to which this happens, and who should be held responsible for future actions. e.g. “Everybody needs to sort of change…one group can’t dictate the terms” (11, RM)
3. Representation	How well the interviewee felt they, and their interests, were represented by other actors, decisions and decision-makers. e.g. “…I hear talk of one or two individuals who are real mouthpieces and they think they’re talking for the whole game shooting industry but…I’ve heard comments that have just made me cringe” (16, GK)
4. Trust and relationships	References to relationships with other actors, and the quality of those relationships. e.g. “…quite frankly, they washed their hands of me. I got –they put me in the firing line, and when the flak came over they just ran for the hills” (1, RM)
5. Government and authorities	Comments on the abilities of government, and relevant authorities, to manage the conflict. e.g. “They do what the boss tells them to – the boss being Scottish government, which are toothless; inept.” (9, RM)
6. Engagement & conflict resolution	The extent to which interviewees engaged with the conflict and efforts to manage it, and what route they thought appropriate in order to change to the situation. e.g. “I’d love to be involved and try and get some dialogue between some of the extreme organizations (7, GK)

Quotes used to illustrate narrative themes are italicised.

Table A2. Example guidelines for semi-structured interviews conducted with gamekeepers and raptor monitors from across Scotland.

Prior to interview	Read through of information sheet; consent form read through and signature
Discussion topic 1: background, warm-up	Interviewee background Relationship to raptors/grouse moor management How did they come into their profession? How has the working environment changed over the years
Discussion topic 2: raptors and raptor management	How raptors feature in/affect their work What issues do they identify as being associated with raptors and/or their management?
Discussion topic 3: other actors	How to they feel about the grouse shooting industry/raptor conservationists? Do they perceive the government to be effective? Do they feel pressure or negative feelings from other parties? What are their relationships like with gamekeepers/raptor monitors
Discussion topic 4: solutions	Keeping in mind the issues identified earlier, how do you see them being rectified? Openness to collaboration/partnership Reasons for failure of past mitigation efforts How do we move forwards

Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.