THAT'S THE PRESS, BABY! THE PRESS! BUT THERE'S SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GREY SQUIRREL SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE MEDIA

Eradication of introduced populations are key conservation tools to mitigate the impacts caused by established alien species. Although the scientific community widely agrees with the necessity to manage and control invasive species, the public opinion often may not support these projects, especially if the species have a strong appeal to the public. The public opinion could be affected by mass media, in particular when the audience has little experience with a particular issue (media-dependency hypothesis). A good communicative campaign could increase the acceptance of management activities and the probability of success, while a poor campaign may lead to more problems or even failures. In …