Human-Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife conservation is easy – until wild animals use resources and property we want to keep for ourselves or threaten the health or safety of our families, pets, or livestock.   Whether it’s deer chewing through suburban gardens, elephants consuming a year’s worth of subsistence crops overnight, or seals snagging fish sought by fishers, human-wildlife conflicts are widespread in a finite world dominated by our own species. 

Conflicts with wildlife also stir conflicts among people.  The harms and benefits of wildlife are felt differently by community members, and the presence of wildlife in the community also brings to the surface deep differences in values and attitudes about the human relationship to nature.

The Human-Wildlife Interaction group at the Center for Animals and Public Policy illuminates the material and value conflicts surrounding human-animal conflicts, and pursues technical, educational, and political solutions that can move us toward a more inclusive, supportive human-wildlife community.