Rumours about wildlife pest introductions: European rabbits in Spain

Abstract

Rumours associated with wildlife are frequent, although they have received little attention in the scientific literature. Studying rumours is important because of their relevance not only in a broad theoretical sense but also in environmental management. The goal of this study is to explore the complexity of the relationships between humans and wildlife through a thematic analysis of rumours associated with allegedly introduced European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that cause crop damage in Spain. For this purpose, potential rumours were identified using the Google search engine. Data analysis consisted of reading and re-reading Web-based texts to identify main themes, ideas and topics with the assistance of NVivo 10 software. The analysis identified three main themes: (1) the reviewed websites referred to allegedly introduced rabbits which differed from native rabbits; (2) differences were based on alleged observations of unnatural behaviour, physiology or physical appearance of introduced rabbits; (3) rumours were frequently used in the context of the rabbit management conflict; e.g. farmers accused hunters of releasing harmful rabbits. This study suggests that the analysis of wildlife-release rumours sheds light on the position of parties involved in conflicts associated with the (alleged) introduction of wildlife species. It stresses the importance of rumours in conservation and environmental management, and opens the door to future research.

A large‐scale assessment of European rabbit damage to agriculture in Spain

“…33 Despite this, media reports have been successfully used previously to assess the impact of small mammal pests. 34 Thus, we argue that, even if there is some error involved, the information obtained in our study can help identify areas of potential stakeholder conflict regarding the management of pest species (farmers and hunters in our study model), 18,24 and can be used in the design of more realistic management plans.…”

“…We selected this word combination based on a previous study which showed that this permutation, but also “rabbit” and “damage”, worked better than “rabbit” and “crop”, and “rabbit” and “overpopulation” . The first 600 consecutive sites resulting from our Google search were visited and their content evaluated by M. Delibes‐Mateos . Searches were performed between 18 May and 11 June 2015.…”

“…We used the Google search engine (www.google.es) and the search terms "pest" and "rabbit" (in Spanish: "plaga" and "conejo", respectively) to identify websites containing information on areas affected by European rabbits in Spain. 24 We selected this word combination based on a previous study which showed that this permutation, but also "rabbit" and "damage", worked better than "rabbit" and "crop", and "rabbit" and "overpopulation". 25 The first 600 consecutive sites resulting from our Google search were visited and their content evaluated by M. Delibes-Mateos.…”

“…25 The first 600 consecutive sites resulting from our Google search were visited and their content evaluated by M. Delibes-Mateos. 24 Searches were performed between 18 May and 11 June 2015. Only websites unequivocally containing information on damage caused by the European rabbit in Spain were considered valid.…”

Conflict and cooperation in the management of European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus damage to agriculture in Spain

“…Campbell‐Smith et al., 2010), including our study areas, and it is a way to legitimise intensive population control. In addition, multiple Spanish media articles demand effective responses to crop damage caused by ‘rabbit plagues’ (‘ plagas de conejo ’ in Spanish) in farmland areas (Delibes‐Mateos, 2017), which therefore disseminate and legitimise the message that farmers expressed in our interviews.…”