Cute, Creepy, or Crispy—How Values, Attitudes, and Norms Shape Human Behavior Toward Bats

Kingston, Tigga

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-25220-9_18

Cited by 86 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Throughout history, bats have been victims of fear, hostility and cultural prejudice all over the world (Kingston 2016). These negative stigmas are being reinvigorated in the light of misinformed representations of bats in the media as a serious threat to human health (Schneeberger & Voigt 2016).…”

Section: Preconceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When bats go viral: negative framings in virological research imperil bat conservation

2017

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The recent upsurge in bat-borne virus research has attracted substantial news coverage worldwide. A systematic review of virological literature revealed that bats were described as a major concern for public health in half of all studies (51%), and that their key role in delivering ecosystem services was disregarded in almost all studies (96%). Although research on zoonoses is of the utmost importance, biased framings of bats can undermine decades of conservation efforts. We urge researchers and science communicators to consider the conservation impacts of how research findings are presented to the public carefully, and, whenever possible, to highlight the ecological significance of bats, their dire conservation situation and their importance for human well-being.

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Section: Preconceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When bats go viral: negative framings in virological research imperil bat conservation

2017

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“…Because hunting, like other human-caused stressors, is tied directly to population declines in bats, it is important that human communities are aware of the trade-offs between temporary gains from bat exploitation and the risk of losing bats entirely from the region. Following a knowledge/ attitude/behavior approach to understanding responsible environmental behavior (Hines et al 1987), communities may come to appreciate bats and support bat conservation only after understanding their role in the environment (see Kingston 2016).…”

Section: Education and Awareness Raisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, once communities that value bats become aware of the threats bats face, the may start to change their behaviors to support bat conservation (but see Kingston 2016). A multi-faceted education and awareness program in the Comoros Islands is a good example of how outreach can lead to changes in attitude and behavior that support conservation.…”

Section: Behavior-local Commitment To Conservation Of Bats and Bat Hamentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine

Mildenstein

Tanshi

Racey

2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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Bat hunting for consumption as bushmeat and medicine is widespread and affects at least 167 species of bats (or c. 13 % of the world's bat species), in Africa, Asia, across the islands of Oceania, and to a lesser extent in Central and South America. Hunting is particularly prevalent among the large-bodied fruit bats of the Old World tropics, where half (50 %, 92/183) the extant species in the family Pteropodidae are hunted. Pteropodids that are hunted are six times more likely to be Red Listed as threatened: 66 % of species in IUCN threatened categories (CR, EN, VU, NT), compared to 11 % of species in the 'Least Concern' (LC) category. However, there still appears to be an information gap at the international level. One third of the hunted species on the Red List are not considered threatened by that hunting, and nearly a quarter of the bat species included in this review are not listed as hunted in IUCN Red List species accounts. This review has resulted in a comprehensive list of hunted bats that doubles the number of species known from either the IUCN Red List species accounts or a questionnaire circulated in 2004. More research is needed on the impacts of unregulated hunting, as well as on the sustainability of regulated hunting programs. In the absence of population size and growth data, legislators and managers should be precautionary in their attitude towards hunting. Roost site protection should be a priority as it is both logistically simpler than patrolling bat foraging grounds and reduces the comparatively larger scale mortality and stress that hunting at the roost can cause. Education and awareness campaigns within local communities should demonstrate how bats are a limited resource and emphasize characteristics (nocturnal, slow reproducing and colonial) that make them particularly vulnerable to hunting pressure. IntroductionMost of the chapters in this book (Voigt and Kingston 2016) consider negative consequences for bats from indirect effects of anthropogenic perturbations. In contrast, this chapter explores the direct exploitation of bats by humans for bushmeat and medicine.A global review of bats as bushmeat was published in 2009 providing an overview of bat hunting based on published literature and a questionnaire widely distributed among bat biologists in (Mickleburgh et al. 2009). Here, we summarize what is currently known about the exploitation of bats for consumption and medicinal use, synthesizing the 2009 review with what has been published since and unpublished information the authors have gathered from colleagues. The result is a comprehensive list of hunted bats species that contains nearly twice as many species as known from either the IUCN Red List species accounts or the 2009 review. It is unclear whether the increased concern about hunting is the result of greater actual hunting pressure, or just represents our increased understanding of hunting impacts. What is clear is that reviews now explicitly attribute species declines and extinction risk to hunting pressure.Most of t...

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“…related to Dracula and feeding on human blood) become welcome after demystifying their negative impact and explaining their function in the ecosystem (e.g. pollinating tree fruits or predating mosquitoes; Kingston, 2015).…”

Section: The Social Realmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating ecosystem services and disservices: insights from plant invasions

et al. 2017

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There is growing interest in ecosystem disservices, i.e. the negative effects of ecosystems on humans. The focus on disservices has been controversial because of the lack of clarity on how to disentangle ecosystem services and disservices related to human wellbeing. A perspective that considers both services and disservices is needed to inform objective decision-making. We propose a comprehensive typology of ecosystem disservices, and present a framework for integrating ecosystem services and disservices for human wellbeing linked to ecosystem functioning.

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Cute, Creepy, or Crispy—How Values, Attitudes, and Norms Shape Human Behavior Toward Bats

Cited by 86 publications

References 107 publications

When bats go viral: negative framings in virological research imperil bat conservation

When bats go viral: negative framings in virological research imperil bat conservation

Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine

Integrating ecosystem services and disservices: insights from plant invasions

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