Management of Returning Wolves and the Role of Society in Germany written by Talina Lorei Registration-number: 940526529020 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Bart Gremmen August 2019 Wageningen University Table of contents List of Figures, Tables & Graphs..........................................................................................................3 Abstract.................................................................................................................................................4 1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................5 2. The Return of the Wolf to Germany.................................................................................................7 2.1 Characteristics of the Wolf.........................................................................................................7 2.2 Distribution and Return.............................................................................................................8 2.3 Challenges and Conflicts...........................................................................................................9 3. The Role of Society........................................................................................................................11 3.1 Attitude and Acceptance..........................................................................................................11 3.2 Level of Involvement...............................................................................................................12 3.3 Rural-Urban-Fallacy................................................................................................................13 4. Communication..............................................................................................................................14 4.1 Crisis Communication.............................................................................................................14 4.2 Communication Structure........................................................................................................14 4.3 Communication Strategy.........................................................................................................16 5. Marketing.......................................................................................................................................18 5.1 Marketing Strategies................................................................................................................18 Mythology & History................................................................................................................18 Nature Conservation.................................................................................................................19 Science and Statistics................................................................................................................21 Emotionalising..........................................................................................................................21 Marketing and Finance..............................................................................................................22 5.2 Marketing – Role and Responsibility......................................................................................23 6. Case Study.....................................................................................................................................24 6.1 Situation Development............................................................................................................24 6.2 Case Analysis...........................................................................................................................26 Dealing with Affected People...................................................................................................26 Public Communication..............................................................................................................28 Societal Dilemma......................................................................................................................29 6.3 Rule or Exception....................................................................................................................31 Thüringen..................................................................................................................................31 Lower Saxony...........................................................................................................................31 7. International Comparison...............................................................................................................33 7.1 France.......................................................................................................................................33 7.2 Romania...................................................................................................................................33 7.3 Scandinavia..............................................................................................................................34 7.4 Wolf- Country Comparison......................................................................................................34 8. Discussion.......................................................................................................................................37 9. Conclusion......................................................................................................................................39 10. Recommendations........................................................................................................................40 References..........................................................................................................................................41 Annex.................................................................................................................................................48 Interviews.......................................................................................................................................48 Attended Events.............................................................................................................................60 List of Figures................................................................................................................................67 List of Tables..................................................................................................................................68 Additional Material........................................................................................................................69 2 List of Figures, Tables & Graphs Typ Name Page Figure 1 Attitude formation process under hypothesised influence of direct and 12 indirect experiences Figure 2 Process of attitude formation mediated by the level of involvement 13 Figure 3 Communication structure of the management institutions, NGO´s & 15 Society in Germany Figure 4 Lifestock-damages caused by wolves: Number of attacks and damaged 65 animals and number of wolve-pairs/packs from 2000-2017 ©DBBW Figure 5 Compensation payments for damages caused by wolves from 2000- 65 2017.©DBBW Table 1 Country secific data and wolf-population 35 Table 2 Wolfpresence in countries, population density, countrysize and hunting 66 regulations Graph 1 Comparison country specific data and wolf population 35 3 Abstract In the 19th century, the wolf was extinct in many European countries. Since the 1990´s, this species is protected under strongest nature conservation regulations. Now the wolves claim old habitats back and resettle again in Europe (BMU, 2019; DBBW, 2019). Among all nature conservation and species conservation programs, the bringing back of large carnivores has a special status, as the coexistence with these animals has a high conflict potential and can cause resistance by society (Arbieu et al., 2019; Eriksson, Sandström & Ericsson, 2015; Lopes-Fernandes, Espírito-Santo & Frazão-Moreira, 2018). With the return of the wolf in Germany in 2000, management plans were set up by the federal states to monitor the reintroduction and manage potential conflicts between wolf and society (DBBW, 2019; Deutschlands Natur, 2019). Despite the management plans, the increasing number of wolves leads to a rising number of problems. Currently, the wolf is under the strongest protection regulation but damages of human property raise the conflicts between nature conservationists and affected society, leading to societal distemper. Killed animals, rising insecurity and fear for jobs raise the claim that wolves should be hunted or even banned from certain areas (Orlos & Mueller-Töwe, 2018; Timcke et al., 2018). This contributed to a societal dilemma and an up-to-date topic in the media, open public- and political debates. The aim of this research is, to identify if the management of the return of the wolf is able to balance the coexistence of society and the wolf and under which circumstances a long-term coexistence is possible. In this context, the role of society is evaluated, as societal acceptance is essential for a successful reintroduction process and future coexistence (Eriksson, Sandström & Ericsson, 2015). Affected people were interviewed about their opinions, experiences and attitudes and public wolf- conventions were attended. Further, the communication and marketing strategies