Understanding the drivers and barriers to participation in wild canid management in Australia: Implications for the adoption of a new toxin, para-aminopropiophenone

Abstract

Wild canids (Canis lupus familiaris, C. l. dingo, C. l. familiaris × l. dingo and Vulpes vulpes) are considered to be major pests in several Australian land tenures. Although a suite of tools is available to reduce the impact of these vertebrate carnivores, the drivers and barriers that influence participation in management and adoption of new management tools are poorly understood. We therefore surveyed public and private land managers, both to record their perceptions toward wild canid management and to identify the social forces that influence the adoption of a new toxin, para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP). The results of the survey demonstrate that PAPP is well placed to overcome barriers to participation in wild canid management. The humaneness of PAPP in relation to target and non-target species, as well as the presence of an antidote, BlueHealer®, appealed to both private and public land managers. However, the adoption of PAPP will not be influenced solely by marketing these features of the toxin. The adoption of PAPP and new pest management tools in general will likely be influenced by beliefs toward the role of pest animals in the ecosystem, neighbour participation in management, and co-ordination of management across land tenures.

Keywords:

• adoption
• baiting
• canids
• foxes
• innovation
• management
• para-aminopropiophenone
• wild dogs

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (IA CRC). Thanks go to Andreas Glanznig, Simon Humphrys, Elaine Murphy and Greg Mifsud from the IA CRC; Patty Please from ABARES and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on draft manuscripts. S. Humphrys has given written permission for his personal communications to be cited in this manuscript.

Notes

1. MAXQDA, software for qualitative data analysis, 1989–2010, VERBI Software. Consult: Sozialforschung GmbH, Berlin-Marburg-Amöneburg, Germany.

2. The data analysis for this paper was generated using SAS software, Version 9.1.3 of the SAS System for Unix. Copyright 2007 SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.