نگرش روستاییان استان قزوین دربارۀ سگ‌های ولگرد (Canis familiaris) و روش‌های مدیریت شرایط کنونی

نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 گروه علوم حفاظت و زیست‌بوم، دانشگاه مونتانا، میزولا، آمریکا

2 انجمن یوزپلنگ ایرانی، تهران، ایران

چکیده

سابقه و هدف: چگونگی مدیریت جمعیت سگ‌های پرسه‌زن یا ولگرد (Canis familiaris) در محیط زندگی انسان و مناطق حفاظت شده گروه‌های مختلفی از جامعه را رودرروی یکدیگر قرار داده‌است. این تقابل نقش‌آفرینان در استان قزوین نیز وجود دارد و مردم و تصمیم‌سازان در تعامل با یکدیگر برای مدیریت سگ‌های ولگرد دچار چنددستگی‌اند. رابطه مردم با سگ‌های ولگرد تعیین‌کننده اثری است که این حیوانات اهلی بر ساکنان و گونه‌های بومی حیات وحش می‌گذارند. از این‌رو، ارزیابی آگاهی و نگرش و نیز تعارض‌ جامعه همزیست با سگ‌های ولگرد و ثبت درس‌های آموخته در بازنگری روش‌های مدیریتی راهگشاست.
مواد و روش‌ها: در این پژوهش به کمک یک پرسشنامه اکتشافی از منتخبی از دهیاران و بخشیاران و اعضای شوراهای اسلامی روستای استان قزوین که در یک کارگاه آموزشی - مشارکتی گرد آمده بودند خواسته شد تا در جایگاه یک گروه متمرکز (کانونی)، آگاهی و تجربه و راهکارهای آزموده یا پیشنهادی خود را درباره مدیریت سگ‌های ولگرد در محیط روستایی به اشتراک بگذارند. ترکیبی‌ از روش‌های کیفی با رویکرد استقرایی و مدل رگرسیون لجستیک برای تحلیل پاسخ‌های دریافتی در این نمونه‌برداری غیرتصادفی استفاده شد.
نتایج و بحث: از پاسخ‌های 115 نفر از گروه کانونی در تحلیل استفاده شد که 98 روستا در هر 6 شهرستان استان قزوین را نمایندگی می‌کردند. نمایندگان 6/79 درصد این روستاها (86 نفر از 78 روستا؛ 74 درصد پاسخ‌دهندگان) سگ‌های ولگرد را یکی از مشکلات روستای خود برشمردند. نارضایتی از حضور سگ‌های ولگرد از روستاهای درون یا حاشیه چهار منطقه تحت حفاظت سازمان حفاظت محیط زیست در استان قزوین گزارش شد. نگرانی از آلودگی و انتقال بیماری (3/34 درصد) و ترس از آسیب جانی (1/11 درصد) مهم‌ترین دلیل ابراز ناخرسندی‌ پاسخ‌دهندگان از حضور سگ‌های ولگرد در محیط روستایی بود. تنها یک نفر (کمتر از یک درصد) از پاسخ‌دهندگان به اثر منفی سگ‌ ولگرد بر حیات وحش اشاره داشت. با افزایش اندازه جمعیت روستا (میانه شیب 3/1، فاصله باور بیزی در سطح اطمینان 95 درصد: 2/0 تا 7/2)، وسعت سکونتگاه انسان در محدوده روستا (1/1، 1/0 تا 7/2) و فاصله روستا از مناطق حفاظت‌شده یا شکارممنوع (8/0، 2/0 تا 8/1)، احتمال ابراز نارضایتی نمایندگان روستایی از سگ‌های‌ ولگرد افزایش ‌یافت. بیش از نیمی از پاسخ‌دهندگان چاره‌اندیشی با شرایط کنونی را بی‌فایده ‌دانستند (4/30 درصد) یا ابراز داشتند که مشکل ویژه‌ای وجود ندارد که به چاره‌اندیشی فوری نیاز باشد (2/25 درصد). تنها 1/26 درصد پاسخ‌دهندگان از معدوم‌کردن سگ‌های ولگرد به‌عنوان روش مطلوب مدیریتی یاد کردند. در بین روش‌های غیرمرگبار که پاسخ‌دهندگان به آن‌ها اشاره کردند، کاهش دسترسی سگ‌های ولگرد به پسماند و جلوگیری از غذادهی (9/13 درصد) و زنده‌گیری سگ‌های ولگرد و رهاسازی آنان در مکان جدید به دور از روستاها (4/10 درصد) پرطرفدارترین بودند.
نتیجه‌گیری: رویکردی که شامل مدیریت پسماند، سامان‌دهی غذادهی به سگ‌های ولگرد و حذف مداوم بخشی از جمعیت محلی سگ‌ها با زنده‌گیری، واکسن، عقیم‌سازی و نگهداری در پناهگاه مناسب تا یافتن سرپرستی مسئول باشد، مورد توافق بیشتر نقش‌آفرینان است. با این‌حال، فراهم‌آوردن منابع مالی و انسانی کافی برای مدیریت جمعیت رو به‌ رشد سگ‌های ولگرد به شیوه‌ای که اخلاقی و مورد پذیرش جامعه باشد و آثار منفی سگ‌ها بر حیات وحش را نیز به حداقل برساند، چالش بزرگی است که تنها با همراهی همه نقش‌آفرینان و ارزیابی منطقی نقاط ضعف و قوت هر راهکار به نتیجه می‌رسد.

کلیدواژه‌ها


عنوان مقاله [English]

Public Attitudes Towards Free-Ranging Dogs (Canis familiaris) and Management Methods in Qazvin Province, Iran

نویسندگان [English]

  • Ehsan Moqanaki 1
  • Navid Gholikhani 2
  • Atie Taktehrani 2
1 Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, USA
2 Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), Tehran, Iran
چکیده [English]

Introduction: There is much debate about the management of free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris) in rural environments and protected areas of Iran. One example is Qazvin Province in north-central Iran, where there has been a steady increase in conflicts between different socioeconomic groups of the public about free-ranging dogs. The relationship between people and free-ranging dogs shapes the impact of these domestic carnivores on wildlife and the human environment. Therefore, understanding residents’ attitudes and interactions between humans and free-ranging dogs can provide insights into the extent of the conflict and propose alternative management interventions that are locally feasible.
Material and Methods: In this study, we asked a focus group of 115 village council members from 98 villages across Qazvin Province to share their knowledge and experience of living with free-ranging dogs and management solutions. We used an exploratory questionnaire with two open-ended questions focusing on (1) whether there is free-ranging dog-human conflict in each village, (2) risks associated with living with free-ranging dogs in rural areas, and (3) appropriate intervention methods. We analysed the resulting data using a qualitative social science approach and fitted a generalized linear mixed model to quantify village-level determinants of complaints.
Results and Discussion: In total, 74% of respondents (86 representatives from 78 villages) identified free-ranging dogs as a problem to residents’ safety and livelihood. Problems with free-ranging dogs were reported from human settlements inside four out of five protected areas in Qazvin Province. Transmission of diseases and parasites (34.3%) and fear of dog bites and attacks (11.1%) were the most common perceived risks associated with free-ranging dogs. Only one respondent felt the need to control free-ranging dogs to reduce their impact on wildlife. The probability of complaints by the respondents about free-ranging dogs increased with an increase in human population size (median and 95% Bayesian credible interval limits of slope βpopulation = 1.3, 0.2 – 2.7), the extent of human settlement areas (βsettlement = 1.1, 0.1 – 2.7), and distance from protected areas (βprotected = 0.8, 0.2 – 1.8) in their villages. Over 50% of the respondents stated that either there is no solution (30.4%) or there is no major conflict with free-ranging dogs that would require an alternative management strategy (25.2%). Only 26.1% of the respondents preferred lethal control measures. The rest of the respondents preferred non-lethal control measures, with reducing food available (13.9%) and trap-and-release to a new site (10.4%) as the most popular alternatives.
Conclusion: Designing and implementing management interventions that are well-accepted by the public and minimize the negative impact of free-ranging dogs on Iranian wildlife is increasingly challenging. Education and awareness efforts can reduce the negative impacts of free-ranging dogs, but they cannot replace the need for active management interventions. The most effective methods to minimize the impact of free-ranging dogs that would be well-accepted by the public are improving waste management and constantly reducing the dog population size through removing individuals without owners from the population by non-lethal methods, including sterilization and transfer to dog shelters. Given the diverse community of stakeholders, participatory decision-making is required to manage free-ranging dog populations in rural areas of Iran.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

  • free-ranging dog
  • domestic carnivores
  • conflict
  • key informant survey
  • focus group
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