Spatio-temporal analysis of game harvests in Sweden

The benefits and costs of wildlife are contingent on the spatial overlap of animal populations with economic and recreational human activities. By using a production function approach with dynamic spatial panel data models, the authors analyze the effects of human hunting and carnivore predation pressure on the value of ungulate game harvests.

The results show evidence of dynamic spatial dependence in the harvests of roe deer and wild boar, but not in those of moose, which is likely explained by the presence of harvesting quotas for the latter. Results suggest the impact of lynx on roe deer harvesting values is reduced by 75% when spatial effects are taken into account. The spatial analysis confirms that policymakers’ aim to reduce wild boar populations through increased hunting has been successful, an effect that was only visible when considering spatial effects.