Attitudes towards Bats in Swedish History

Eklöf, Johan; Rydell, Jens

doi:10.2993/0278-0771-41.1.35

Cited by 13 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditionally, bats have been regarded as an object of respect in Nordic countries (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021). For example, in a review of old literature in Sweden and the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland, Eklöf and Rydell (2021) found no support for bats being considered dangerous or pathogenic among Nordic people in the past. Indeed, the general attitude toward bats in Finland, where our study was conducted may be very different to that in countries where cullings have taken place today.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historically, bats were considered powerful creatures in Nordic countries. They were well known and highly respected in terms of amulets of good luck and ingredients of magical charms (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021). A bat colony in a house was, in fact, believed to protect the inhabitants from any illnesses in Finland (Wessman, 1952).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These ancient beliefs may still be reflected in the results of our study. The Christian church introduced bats as evil creatures in the middle ages, but old beliefs were not discarded, and pagan beliefs and Christianity flourished side by side (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021). The behavior and nocturnal activity of bats was associated with some dark activities, but never in the Nordic history were they considered to carry any illnesses or diseases (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Christian church introduced bats as evil creatures in the middle ages, but old beliefs were not discarded, and pagan beliefs and Christianity flourished side by side (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021). The behavior and nocturnal activity of bats was associated with some dark activities, but never in the Nordic history were they considered to carry any illnesses or diseases (Eklöf and Rydell, 2021). Besides this, bats and their roosts are strictly protected by law in Finland, which would ultimately prevent any culling practices from taking place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Disease Avoidance Model Explains the Acceptance of Cohabitation With Bats During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Bats and humans have a close relationship based on cohabitation, with bats taking roost in buildings. It has been suggested that bats function as a reservoir of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease in humans. A misconception that bats can spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans may have increased negative emotions toward bats and reduced individuals’ acceptance of cohabitation with bats during the COVID-19 pandemic. By applying the disease avoidance model, we tested whether knowledge about bats would be associated with reduced negative emotions toward bats, which in turn would be associated with increased acceptance of cohabitation with bats. Moreover, we tested whether previous experiences of bats, perceived COVID-19 risk, age, gender and level of education would be associated with negative emotions and acceptance of bats. A quantitative survey (N = 577) collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland was analyzed with multiple linear regression. The results supported the disease avoidance model. Negative emotions toward bats reduced the acceptance of cohabitation with bats. However, knowledge about bats was associated with increased acceptance of bats both directly, as well as indirectly, via reduced negative emotions. Moreover, perceived COVID-19 risk was associated with increased negative emotions toward bats, and reduced acceptance of bats. Females were more likely than other respondents to report negative emotions, and reduced acceptance of cohabitation with bats. Prior experience of bats was associated with increased acceptance of bats as neighbors. These findings suggest that COVID-19 pandemic may threaten the existence of bats if no action is taken. The findings highlight the importance of correcting misunderstandings about non-human species as transmitters of diseases to humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Disease Avoidance Model Explains the Acceptance of Cohabitation With Bats During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Newspaper Coverage and Framing of Bats, and Their Impact on Readership Engagement

et al. 2023

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The media is a valuable pathway for transforming people’s attitudes towards conservation issues. Understanding how bats are framed in the media is hence essential for bat conservation, particularly considering the recent fearmongering and misinformation about the risks posed by bats. We reviewed bat-related articles published online no later than 2019 (before the recent COVID19 pandemic), in 15 newspapers from the five most populated countries in Western Europe. We examined the extent to which bats were presented as a threat to human health and the assumed general attitudes towards bats that such articles supported. We quantified press coverage on bat conservation values and evaluated whether the country and political stance had any information bias. Finally, we assessed their terminology and, for the first time, modelled the active response from the readership based on the number of online comments. Out of 1095 articles sampled, 17% focused on bats and diseases, 53% on a range of ecological and conservation topics, and 30% only mention bats anecdotally. While most of the ecological articles did not present bats as a threat (97%), most articles focusing on diseases did so (80%). Ecosystem services were mentioned on very few occasions in both types (< 30%), and references to the economic benefits they provide were meagre (< 4%). Disease-related concepts were recurrent, and those articles that framed bats as a threat were the ones that garnered the highest number of comments. Therefore, we encourage the media to play a more proactive role in reinforcing positive conservation messaging by presenting the myriad ways in which bats contribute to safeguarding human well-being and ecosystem functioning. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10393-023-01634-x.

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Beyond biophobia: positive appraisal of bats among German residents during the COVID-19 pandemic - with consequences for conservation intentions

Straka,

Coleman,

Macdonald

et al. 2024

Biodivers Conserv

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Bats are often considered to be objects of biophobia, i.e., the tendency to respond with a negative emotion, such as fear or disgust, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing studies have rarely compared both positive and negative emotions towards bats, leading to a potential negativity bias. This is crucial given the importance of emotions to bat-related human behaviours, such as in bat conservation-related actions. Via two online surveys conducted among German residents, we aimed to (i) assess positive and negative emotions towards bats, (ii) examine emotional shifts during the pandemic and (iii) explore how emotions, along with socio-demographics, predict the intent to perform bat-conservation actions. The first survey was undertaken ten months after the official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2020 - January 2021), when bats gained societal attention due to speculation about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the second one ran twelve months later (January 2022). Overall, respondents held higher positive emotions than negative ones towards bats in both surveys, with no significant emotional shift observed. Positive emotions positively correlated with intentions to perform bat-conservation actions, while negative emotions showed no such relationship. Although our findings might be context-specific to populations in Germany or Europe, given European-Union legislation protecting bats and their habitats, they highlight the nuanced and complicated emotions that can be associated with certain species. Understanding these emotions can guide targeted conservation strategies and public outreach. Our results caution against overly generalising discussions of biophobia in conservation.

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Attitudes towards Bats in Swedish History

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

Disease Avoidance Model Explains the Acceptance of Cohabitation With Bats During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Disease Avoidance Model Explains the Acceptance of Cohabitation With Bats During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Newspaper Coverage and Framing of Bats, and Their Impact on Readership Engagement

Beyond biophobia: positive appraisal of bats among German residents during the COVID-19 pandemic - with consequences for conservation intentions

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