Society’s struggle with unwanted species

Species bounty programs, much like bounty hunters who are charged with bringing fugitives to justice, enlist the public to locate and remove unwanted species through financial incentives. With the goal of reducing population sizes, these programs address perceived ecological and economic damage caused by target species. In this study, we provide the first global assessment of species bounty programs, drawing on evidence from both historical and contemporary efforts across diverse regions and cultural contexts over the past eight centuries.

Olden, J. D., Diallo, J. O., Fricke, R. M., Jameson, E., Johnson, R. C., Stiling, R. R., & Thompson, B. K. (2026). Society’s struggle with unwanted species: What centuries of history reveal about species bounty programs. NPJ BIODIVERSITY, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-026-00132-x