MY INTERACTIONS WITH ANIMALS

1
MY INTERACTIONS WITH ANIMALS

• Personal
• pets
• falconry
• birdwatching
• Professional
• endangered species
• wildlife conservation
• biodiversity

2
HUMAN-WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS

• Knowledge, attitudes, preferences, values,
  activities and issues

3
ONTOGENY OF HUMAN-WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS

• Key components develop early in life and may even
  be innate (the biophilia hypothesis)
• lt8 years old--affected strongly by basic emotions
  related to animals (fear, cuddly things, etc.)
• 8-12 years old--most significant period, acquire
  facts about animals from personal experiences
• outdoor interactions with wildlife are very
  important
• reinforced by books, stories, classroom learning,
  and TV (13 of childrens books have an animal in
  the title!)
• 13-16 years old--concepts, abstract ideas, ethics
• begin to understand the complexity of
  relationships

4
Basic attitudes towards animals
Knowledge of animals
Activities involving wildlife
Opinions on key wildlife issues
Human-animal relationships
Values attributed to animals
Preferences for certain animals
5
KNOWLEDGE OF WILDLIFE

• Most Americans are surprisingly ignorant about
  wildlife, but they often have strong beliefs
  that are thought to be factual (but often arent)
• Stephen Kellerts 1980 study (T-F and multiple
  choice test), for example
• Most insects have backbones (57 correct)
• The manatee is an insect (26 correct)
• The coyote is an endangered species (26
  correct)
• Raptors are small rodents (13 correct)
• Overall, for the general population, 53 correct
• Many errors could be traced to common myths
  about wildlife

6
KNOWLEDGE OF WILDLIFE

• Americans were most knowledgeable about
• Dangerous wild animals (63 correct)
• Pets (56 correct)
• Domestic animals (53 correct)
• Americans were least knowledgeable about
• Native predators (47 correct)
• Taxonomic relatedness (38 correct)
• Invertebrates (36 correct)

7
KNOWLEDGE OF WILDLIFE

• Most knowledgeable groups
• birdwatchers, trappers and hunters, college
  educated, high income, members of nature groups,
  residents of Alaska and Rocky Mountains
• Least knowledgeable groups
• lt high school education, gt75 years old, lt25 years
  old, residents of large cities

8
A SHOCKING DISCOVERY

• 2002 study of British school children (4-12 years
  old)
• Identification and knowledge of native wildlife
  versus Pokémon characters
• Sex and age differences existed
• Overall, kids knew much more about Pokémon
  characters (78 correct) than native species (53
  correct)!!!

9
ATTITUDES TOWARD ANIMALS

• 1980 study by Stephen Kellert is a classic
• Based on responses of Americans to a battery of
  questions designed to reveal attitudes toward
  animals
• Used statistical methods to arrange respondents
  into categorical groups
• Revealed 10 groupings of basic attitudes
• Subsequently validated by many other similar
  studies

10
10 ATTITUDES

• Naturalistic primary interest in wildlife and
  outdoors animals are the context for activities
  in natural setting (backpackers, nature study,
  sport hunting)
• Ecologistic Primary concern for environment as a
  system, emphasis on wildlife interactions with
  other species (ecological study, conservation
  activism)
• Humanistic Primary interest and affection for
  individual animals, especially pets and large
  attractive species (pet ownership, casual zoo
  visitation, anthropomorphism)
• Moralistic Primary concern for ethically correct
  treatment of animals, strongly opposed to
  exploitation and cruelty (animal welfare/rights
  group member)
• Scientistic Primary interest in studying the
  physical attributes and biological functioning of
  animals (scientific study, collecting)

11
10 ATTITUDES (continued)

• Aesthetic Primary interest in the artistic and
  symbolic features of animals (nature
  appreciation, wildlife art)
• Utilitarian Primary concern for the practical
  and material values of animals (farmers, meat
  hunters, trappers)
• Dominionistic Primary satisfaction derived from
  mastery and control of animals, typically in a
  sporting context (trophy hunters, animal
  spectator sports)
• Negativistic Primarily concerned about avoiding
  animals because of fear and dislike (fear of
  animals, cruelty to animals)
• Neutralistic Completely uninterested, passive
  avoidance due to indifference (avoidance of
  animals)

12
WHOS IN AND NOT IN THESE GROUPS

• Naturalistic college educated, Alaska vs lt6th
  grade, black
• Ecologistic college educated, Alaska vs lt6th
  grade, black
• Humanistic 18-25 yrs old, female vs farmers, gt60
  yrs old
• Moralistic west coast, female vs rural, male
• Scientistic college educated,18-25 yrs old vs
  gt60lt12 yrs old
• Aesthetic female, east coast vs lt6th grade,
  farmer
• Utilitarian farmers, gt60 yrs old vs college
  educated, urban
• Dominionistic farmer, male vs west coast, female
• Negativistic black, lt8th grade vs college
  educated, rural
• Neutralistic urban, female vs rural, male

13
HOW MANY ARE IN THESE GROUPS?

• Naturalistic 1978 (10), 1995 (12)
• Ecologistic 1978 (7), 1995 (13)
• Humanistic 1978 (35), 1995 (22)
• Moralistic 1978 (20), 1995 (16)
• Scientistic 1978 (1), 1995 (lt1)
• Aesthetic 1978 (15), 1995 (13)
• Utilitarian 1978 (20), 1995 (14)
• Dominionistic 1978 (3), 1995 (8)
• Negativistic 1978 (2), 1995 (15)
• Neutralistic 1978 (35), 1995 (40)
• Theistic 1995 (lt1) a new category?
• Note totals are gt100 because of overlap

14
2002 CLASS

• Naturalistic 24 (vs 12)
• Ecologistic 22 (vs 13)
• Humanistic 28 (vs 22)
• Moralistic 19 (vs 16)
• Scientistic 2 (vs lt1)
• Aesthetic 9 (vs 13)
• Utilitarian 6 (vs 14)
• Dominionistic lt1 (vs 8)
• Negativistic lt1 vs 15)
• Neutralistic lt1 (vs 40)
• Theistic lt1 (vs lt1)
• Note totals are gt100 because of overlap

15
ANIMAL PREFERENCES

• Not all animals are liked by people favorites
  exist
• Kellerts study ranked a range of species
• Top favorites (among choices offered)
• dog, horse, swan, robin, butterfly, trout,
  salmon, eagle, elephant, owl, turtle, cat
• Bottom least favorites
• cockroach, mosquito, rat, wasp, rattlesnake, bat,
  vulture, shark, skunk, lizard, crow, coyote
• We generally prefer animals that are
• beautiful, intelligent, related to us, large,
  useful, economically valuable, not threatening,
  not predatory, graceful

16
WHY WE VALUE ANIMALS

• We have relied on wildlife as valuable resources
  for gt99 of human history
• Today, we value wildlife in 2 basic ways
• Instrumental value We still value animals that
  are useful to us because they help us achieve our
  own goals (an anthropocentric view)
• Intrinsic value We also value animals in their
  own right, regardless of their usefulness (a
  biocentric view)
• Many Americans do not value wildlife highly in
  either context and are willing to compromise
  human needs for only a few favored species

17
PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES INVOLVING WILDLIFE

• American interact with wildlife in a variety of
  ways
• 78 watched nature shows on TV
• 67 owned a pet
• 59 feed birds
• 45 visit zoos
• 44 fished
• 12 hunted
• 11 belonged to a conservation organization
• 8 birdwatched seriously
• How they interact with wildlife influences their
  relationship with wildlife (e.g., the Bambi
  effect)

18
MOST ASPECTS OF HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS ARE
DYNAMIC

• Much variation exists within American public
• gender, ethnicity, age, regional, etc.
• Differences exist between different cultures
• Changes take place over time
• Education influences human-animal relationships

19
GENDER AND ATTITUDES
20
ETHNICITY AND ATTITUDES
21
USA VERSUS JAPAN
22
CULTURAL VIEWS OF WHALING
23
HISTORICAL CHANGES IN ATTITUDES
24
EDUCATION AFFECTS ATTITUDES
negativistic
naturalistic
utilitarian
moralistic
ecologistic
dominionistic
Negative attitudes diminish positive
attitudes replace them
25
EDUCATION AFFECTS ATTITUDES
26
MANY AMERICANS PURSUE WILDLIFE-RELATED ACTIVITIES

• In 1996, there were 40 million consumptive
  recreational users and 110 million
  non-consumptive recreational users
• 82 million feed birds, 60 million bird watched,
  18 million photographed animals
• Most Americans support wildlife conservation and
  management
• Most Americans want stronger wildlife protection
  (e.g., 82 favor the Endangered Species Act in
  spite of special-interest opposition)

27
OPINIONS ON WILDLIFE ISSUES VARY WIDELY

• In the USA wildlife species are held as a public
  trust and managed by government in ways that
  reflect the publics views
• But, the public can be divided on key wildlife
  issues, reflecting differences between
  individuals/groups
• Divergent opinions can often be interpreted in
  terms of underlying knowledge, attitudes,
  preferences and values

28
PEOPLE WANT GOVERNMENT TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR
WILDLIFE
29
VIEWS ABOUT HUNTING ARE COMPLEX
30
SPECIES PREFERENCES AND WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE
31
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
32
SPECIAL INTERESTS AND WILDLIFE
33
EDUCATION AND VIEWS ON WILDLIFE ISSUES
34
HUMAN-WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS CAN IMPROVE

• Better knowledge, improved attitudes, increased
  value, and broader tolerance promote an ethic of
  care and compassion
• Education makes a huge difference
• Early experiences with animals are very important
• Messages and images conveyed by the media can be
  very influential (e.g., whaling, tuna-porpoise,
  killing baby seals for fur, listing feral cats as
  unprotected animals, etc.)