Livestock protection measures are necessary to protect livestock from wolf attacks but are highly controversial in the agricultural community. This qualitative study referred to the theory of planned behavior to explore the social elements that influence farmers' intention to use or reject livestock protection measures. Data were collected from 45 sheep farmers on 4 alpine pastures in the Alpine province of Bolzano, Italy, using semistructured interviews. Results show, first, a predominantly negative attitude toward livestock protection measures because of perceived technical constraints, excessive workload, and emotional stress. Second, family, friends, and other sheep farmers were the most important referent groups and could trigger social stress to support or hinder the use of protection measures. Third, perceived behavioral control was constrained by a lack of professional advice in the province regarding protection measures and a lack of funding for additional costs involved. Intentions to use these measures in the future were equally positive and negative, with the sheer inevitability of needing protection measures to allow continued grazing cited as the primary motivator. These findings underline the importance of considering social factors in management plans and conflict mitigation actions and serve as a basis for further, more detailed studies.

Summer pasture grazing is perceived as being under pressure from renewed wolf presence in the Italian Alpine province of South Tyrol. To investigate this, we combined a literature review with expert interviews to (1) get an overview of the situation of small ruminant farming and (2) identify drivers with an influence on summer pasture use, including wolf presence. Firstly, the results show an increase in small ruminant farms and stock numbers in the valley and on summer pastures during the last years. Secondly, subsidy programs, off-farm employment, lack of personnel and tourism are some of the main drivers for summer pasture development in the past and future. Thirdly, this analysis detects the potential pressure of wolf presence on small ruminant summer farming. Nevertheless, this impact should still be considered modest compared to other driving processes that have started before the return of the wolves. Based on this, the study finally discusses the importance of focusing on targeted funding, the revalorization of the shepherd profession and the balance between tourism and livestock farming to support summer pasture farming in the future.

The reappearance of wolves in Europe has necessitated the implementation of livestock protection measures, causing different conflicts among and for stakeholder groups. This study, conducted between 2022 and 2025 in South Tyrol (IT), aimed to identify the main obstacles to implementing livestock protection measures through a participatory process involving eight stakeholder groups and to develop commonly accepted interventions. This process combined conflict mapping through stakeholder and socio‐economic context analysis, followed by a workshop and working group meetings to prioritize and refine interventions. Key findings revealed that socio‐economic challenges such as lacking viability of summer pasture grazing and a shortage of personnel are as critical as technical constraints related to livestock protection implementation. Thirteen interventions were enacted, focusing on the formalization of shepherding through training and regulations, stakeholder collaboration, awareness campaigns, and contractual nature conservation as an additional income source. Despite initial skepticism and institutional challenges, the participatory approach allowed consideration of different perspectives, promoted joint problem‐solving, social learning, and strengthened the legitimacy of the intervention decisions. The findings highlight the need for sustained political commitment and adaptive policies to ensure the long‐term viability of summer pasture farming and livestock protection implementation. Lessons learned are provided to inform replication in other regions.