The artificial selection of traits in wildlife populations through hunting and fishing has been well documented. However, despite their rising popularity, the role that artificial selection may play in non‐extractive wildlife activities, for example, recreational feeding activities, remains unknown. If only a subset of a population takes advantage of human‐wildlife feeding interactions, and if this results in different fitness advantages for these individuals, then artificial selection may be at work. We have tested this hypothesis using a wild fallow deer population living at the edge of a capital city as our model population. In contrast to previous assumptions on the randomness of human‐wildlife feeding interactions, we found that a limited non‐random portion of an entire population is continuously engaging with people. We found that the willingness to beg for food from humans exists on a continuum of inter‐individual repeatable behaviour; which ranges from risk‐taking individuals repeatedly seeking and obtaining food, to shyer individuals avoiding human contact and not receiving food at all, despite all individuals having received equal exposure to human presence from birth and coexisting in the same herds together. Bolder individuals obtain significantly more food directly from humans, resulting in early interception of food offerings and preventing other individuals from obtaining supplemental feeding. Those females that beg consistently also produce significantly heavier fawns (300–500 g heavier), which may provide their offspring with a survival advantage. This indicates that these interactions result in disparity in diet and nutrition across the population, impacting associated physiology and reproduction, and may result in artificial selection of the begging behavioural trait. This is the first time that this consistent variation in behaviour and its potential link to artificial selection has been identified in a wildlife population and reveals new potential effects of human‐wildlife feeding interactions in other species across both terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

Abnormal behaviours such as ear and tail biting of pigs is of significant welfare and economic concern. Currently, pig welfare legislation is under renewed focus by the EU commission and is likely to be enforced more thoroughly. The legislation prohibits routine tail docking and requires adequate enrichment to be provided. In Ireland, tail-docking is still the most utilised control mechanism to combat tail biting, but biting is still widespread even in tail-docked pigs. In addition, as pig farms are almost all fully slatted, bedding type material cannot be provided. Thus, the opinions, and practices of farmers in countries like Ireland, which may need to make significant adaptations to typical pig management systems soon, need to be considered and addressed. We carried out a survey of pig farmers during 2015 in order to gain a greater understanding of the extent of biting on Irish farms, perception on the most important preventive measures, current enrichment use and actions following outbreaks. Fifty-eight farmers from 21 Counties responded with an average herd size of 710 ± 597 sows (range 90–3000 sows). Only two farms had experienced no biting in the last year. Of the farms that had experienced tail biting (88%), 86% had also experienced ear biting. The most common concerns relating to biting were condemnation and reduced productivity of bitten pigs with both receiving an average score of 4 (most serious). Ear biting occurred most commonly in the 2nd stage (approximately 47–81 days from weaning) weaner and tail biting in the finishing stage. The most important preventive measures were felt to be taking care of animal health, restricting density, maintaining an even quality of feed/content and maintaining good air movement. Sixty-five percent of respondents added additional enrichment following an outbreak. Chains were the most common form of enrichment currently used (83%). Those not using chains favoured wood, toys and rope (17%). Identification of the most effective and accessible control and prevention measures both for the animals and for the farming community is thus essential. Improved understanding of the concerns and practices of producers, which this survey contributes to, is a first step towards this aim.

Behavioural variation at the individual level has been shown to play an important role in animal ecology and evolution. Whereas most studies have focused on subadult or adult subjects, neonates have been relatively neglected, despite studies showing that neonates can exhibit consistent inter‐individual differences during early developmental stages. Steroid hormones, including glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol) and androgens (e.g. testosterone), play a crucial role in foetal development and maturation and could therefore drive neonate behaviour, although this relationship is poorly understood in wild animal populations. Our study addresses these knowledge gaps by investigating the association between neonate fallow deer Dama dama fawn inter‐individual variability in behavioural response to human handling and hair cortisol and testosterone levels. We found strong evidence that individual neonates display repeatable differences in the way they cope with a risky situation during their first days of life, and showed how these differences are linked to cortisol and testosterone levels accumulated in utero. We showed that, when both steroids are included in the same model, neonates with high cortisol and low testosterone levels coped in a more proactive way with human handling (higher heart rate during handling and shorter latency to leave when released) compared to those with low cortisol and high testosterone levels (lower heart rate and longer latency to leave). These results provide novel insights into the proximate mechanism leading to neonate inter‐individual variation in a wild population of large mammals. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Managing activities that result in human–wildlife conflict is a challenging goal for modern scientists and managers. In recent years, the self‐motivated feeding of wildlife by humans has garnered popularity but with consequent risks for the health and safety of both parties. This has resulted in calls for management in areas of high contact, for example, parklands. Traditional controls are typically utilised (i.e. signage, patrols), yet their success is varied, leading to a rise in research aiming to improve them. This research has primarily focused on language and design, with little attention paid to the role that audience type (i.e. international tourists vs. locals/residents) may play in their success. Proportions in audience type present can vary both between parks and spatially within a single park, however, controls are usually applied homogeneously with no consideration for how response may vary between these groups. Here, we performed a robust before–after study across two summers using a wild fallow deer population in a public park that are commonly fed by visitors as our model. We deployed controls, following best practice as outlined by the literature, and tested their overall effectiveness. We then identified key areas with differences in visitor type proportions and tested for variation in success between them. We found that the numbers of visitors feeding the deer significantly decreased overall after the introduction of controls, although interactions were not eliminated entirely. We discovered that the effectiveness of these controls varied with changes in visitor type, with the most positive effects occurring in areas with more international tourists and no significant effect occurring in areas dominated by resident visitors. Notably, of the food offerings remaining, the proportion of foods that could be perceived as ‘nutritionally beneficial’ increased in both sites, marking overall changes in the behaviours of even those visitors who refused to stop feeding. These findings highlight the importance of target audience research in human–wildlife conflict management. We recommend that authorities aiming to reduce these interactions perform systematic surveys to identify the audience type present and cater controls accordingly to maximise their success. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The provision of manipulable material to pigs is a legal requirement to ensure their good welfare. Loose straw is edible, chewable, investigable and manipulable, and has been proven to be effective in reducing abnormal behaviour. However, it is incompatible with slatted systems and therefore not a viable option for many intensive units. Thus, there is a need to identify enrichment materials that are as effective as loose straw and compatible with slatted floors. This study investigated the viability of using compressed straw blocks on a commercial farm in terms of cost and effectiveness in reducing biting relative to plastic hanging toys. A total of 880 slaughter pigs were used, among which half (n = 440, 8 groups) were provided with commercial pig toys (TOY) and the other half (n = 440, 8 groups) were provided compressed straw blocks (STRAW BLOCK). Animals were separated according to sex to investigate whether there was a higher propensity to tail and ear bite depending on sex. Pigs were monitored from weaning to slaughter, with tails being examined post scalding and any condemnations recorded at the abattoir. Throughout their life, the tails and ears of all pigs were examined individually, and behavioural observations of each pig group were conducted fortnightly. Salivary cortisol was also obtained from a subsample of pigs from each group every fortnight to monitor stress levels. The highest straw usage was recorded in the second weaner stage (39 to 67 days after weaning). Enrichment type or sex had no effect on tail lesion scores or cold carcass weight recorded at the abattoir. There was also no effect of enrichment type or sex on body, tail, or ear lesion scores during either the weaner (0 to 39 days after weaning) or finisher stage (67 to145 days after weaning). Female pigs showed more biting behaviour than males, and female pigs that were provided STRAW BLOCK performed better than those provided TOY. In both the weaner and finisher accommodation, more instances of interaction were recorded with TOY pens as enrichment than with STRAW BLOCK, but the interaction duration was not recorded. There was no effect of sex on either stage. More instances of aggression were observed with the TOY than with STRAW BLOCK in the weaner stage (P < 0.05). Enrichment type or sex had no effect on cortisol levels. Thus, relative to plastic hanging toys, compressed straw blocks provided in this manner did not benefit pig welfare.