Philosophical Perspectives on Wildlife Crop Damage and Management

Abstract

This paper traces and elaborates on the philosophical thinking on the history of wildlife crop damage and management measures to mitigate the damages. It explores how crop farmers become vulnerable to wildlife crop damage, besides identifying useful theories and practices on wildlife crop damage and management. Vulnerability to crop damage is depicted from the biophysical, social, and institutional vulnerability. In the absence of appropriate compensation schemes, wildlife crop damage management interventions, and strategies, crop farmers around protected areas remain vulnerable to crop damage by wildlife globally. The location of crop farms the protected area and the nature of agricultural activities practiced by farmers near protected areas make them vulnerable to crop damage by wildlife through foraging. Since foraging by wildlife is triggered by nutrition stress and crops grown by farmers are of more nutritive value as per Optimal Foraging Theory. The need for compensation for wildlife crop damage always arises around Protected Areas and this task institution mandated with managing wildlife to find appropriate crop damage mitigation measures. Wildlife crop damage is a natural phenomenon presumed to have existed since the birth of agriculture and emphasizing wildlife freedom irrespective of damage wildlife imposed on agriculturalists was key philosophical thinking that boosted wildlife populations which resulted in increasing damage by wildlife. This paper evaluates policies on wildlife crop damage management and suggests how to mitigate wildlife crop damage.