Public Attitudes in India and Australia toward Elephants in Zoos

Abstract

We surveyed the attitudes of people toward captive elephants in australia, where importation into zoos has been controversial recently, compared with India, where elephants are indigenous. Both australian (aR, n = 101) and Indian (IR, n = 101) respondents rated conservation as the most important reason for the role of zoos and sanctuaries. australian respondents were more concerned about the husbandry conditions for keeping wild animals in zoos and sanctuaries than Indian respondents (p = 0.02). this concern for captive animals increased with the higher educational level of the respondents. Female australian respondents were more concerned about the practice of keeping elephants in captivity than australian men. more australian respondents were prepared to pay extra to visit a zoo with elephants (aR 42.6%, IR 7.9%, p < 0.001). Indian respondents believed more than their australian counterparts that it was important for any zoo to display elephants, and wanted to interact with elephants by feeding, touching, and riding on them. While australian respondents' perceptions of captive elephants acknowledged their scientific value, Indian respondents viewed elephants primarily of religious, cultural, and historical significance. We conclude that australians and Indians have different requirements for keeping elephants in zoos, which should inform zoo directors about the best way to present them to the public.

Zoo visitor perceptions, attitudes, and conservation intent after viewing African elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

“…While several research works have helped to determine visitors’ gained cognitive knowledge at zoos [Spotte and Clark, ; Jensen, ; Perdue et al, ], research regarding guest attitudes, perceptions and behaviors has historically been lacking [Ogden and Heimlich, ]. However, in recent years, such research has been on the rise in an effort to showcase the importance of zoos in regards to the public's understanding of conservation [Gurusamy et al, ; Price et al, ; Luebke et al, ].…”

Public Attitudes towards Cow Welfare and Cow Shelters (Gaushalas) in India

“…The response rate in this study was higher than other animal welfare surveys [19,45], giving confidence that it accurately depicted the attitude of the communities surrounding these gaushalas, with little non-response bias [46]. The demographic profiles of the samples in this study appear to be similar to the national profile of the population in some respects; however, the proportion of Hindus was greater, probably because gaushalas were mainly established in Hindu-centric communities.…”

University Students' Attitudes Towards Animal Welfare in Duhok Zoo

“…The public attitudes toward captive animals differ depending on the characteristics and nature of the animals' concerned [12,13,14,15,16]. Likewise, cultural, socioeconomic, and religious differences have a crucial role in affecting public's attitudes toward captive animals [17,7]. There has been much research to comprehend public attitudes toward wild animals' conservation [18,19].…”

“…In the meantime, due to the estimations of the World Organization of Zoo, there are about 10,000 zoological parks and more than 250,000 animals kept in zoos worldwide [5]. In addition, there are about 620 million zoo visitors every year [6,7]. Zoos and sanctuaries are mainly used for the protection and conservation of animals brought from the wild into captivity so as to be similar to their natural environment [8,7]; although, many people are not in the belief that the animals' captivity for the sake of their protection and conservation [9].…”