Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict farmer's intention to report livestock depredation and kill hyena

Understanding and managing conservation conflicts is important for
stakeholders (e.g., policymakers and practitioners) trying to minimise
negative impacts on people and biodiversity. A key component of Namibia’s
community-based natural resource management system, besides enabling
communities to derive benefits from wildlife, is the monitoring of
wildlife and reporting of negative wildlife impacts on human lives and
livelihoods. Farmers across Namibia may legally kill carnivores found
attacking their livestock and may receive financial compensation if
reported within twenty-four hours. Both interventions are intended to
offset costs and build tolerance towards wildlife. Expanding the Theory of
Planned Behaviour by incorporating Descriptive Norm, we investigated
farmers’ Behavioural Intention to (1) legally kill brown Hyaena brunnea
and spotted Crocuta crocuta hyena when found killing their livestock, and
(2) report livestock depredation incidents to the relevant authorities in
two governance contexts – inside versus outside communal conservancies. We
hypothesised famers inside communal conservancies would have lower
behavioural intentions to kill hyaena and stronger intentions to report
livestock depredation compared to farmers outside conservancies.
Questionnaire data were collected from 1,139 farmers from inside (n=945)
and outside (n=188) communal conservancies. Most respondents reported no
intention to kill hyena that killed their cattle, with no significant
difference between farmers living inside (89%) and outside (90%)
conservancies. Intention to report depredation incidents differed
significantly between groups, with 90% of respondents inside conservancies
intending to report compared to 78% outside conservancies. Inside
conservancies, Attitude was the strongest predictors of farmers’
Behavioural Intention to kill hyena and report incidents of livestock
depredation. Outside conservancies, intention to kill hyaena was most
strongly associated with Perceived Behavioural Control, while Attitude was
the strongest predictor of intention to report. Including Descriptive Norm
improved model fit. Our findings highlight how socio-psychological factors
differ between governance contexts and how they subsequently influence
farmer’s behavioural intentions. Our improved understanding of perceptions
underpinning farmers’ decision-making can inform the design of
interventions to reduce retaliatory killing and improve reporting of
wildlife impacts. Results from this study could also improve the
interpretation of national depredation databases and guide more effective
mitigation strategies.