The Importance of Human Emotions for Wildlife Conservation

Abstract

Animals have always been important for human life due to the ecological, cultural, and economic functions that they represent. This has allowed building several kinds of relationships that have promoted different emotions in human societies. The objective of this review was to identify the main emotions that humans show toward wildlife species and the impact of such emotions on animal population management. We reviewed academic databases to identify previous studies on this topic worldwide. An analysis of the emotions on wildlife and factors causing them is described in this study. We identified a controversy about these emotions. Large predators such as wolves, coyotes, bears, big felids, and reptiles, such as snakes and geckos, promote mainly anger, fear, and disgust. This is likely due to the perceptions, beliefs, and experiences that societies have historically built around them. However, in some social groups these animals have promoted emotions such as happiness due to their values for people. Likewise, sadness is an emotion expressed for the threatening situations that animals are currently facing. Furthermore, we associated the conservation status of wildlife species identified in the study with human emotions to discuss their relevance for emerging conservation strategies, particularly focused on endangered species promoting ambiguous emotions in different social groups.

Design and Psychometric Properties of the BAtSS: A New Tool to Assess Attitudes towards Bats

“…Considering the importance of attitudes in the development of conservation behaviors [17,20], especially in the case of animals which cause fear and evoke disgust; are associated with dirt, disease, or infection; or are aesthetically less favored [4,6,7,13,48,49], and in the absence of a conceptual model and a unified measurement instrument, we developed the BatSS in a Chilean community sample to evaluate attitudes towards bats. For this, we counted on the contributions of previous measurement systems [2,[5][6][7].…”

“…Although most studies analyze only the technical aspects of human-wildlife conflicts, peoples' attitudes towards species can be important drivers to achieve their long-term resolution (Kingston, 2016). To understand attitudes towards endangered species is considered to be a critical step to foster their preservation [17,20]. In this regard, classical theories regarding the variables of influence on the development of human behavior, such as the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned action [21], consider attitudes to be a fundamental element of individual decision-making.…”

“…As a no charismatic species, people's perceptions and values attributed to bats are vital for their conservation [4,6,13]. The prevalence of the humanistic perspective of animals in educational campaigns [20] or the tendency to largely select flagship species based on their aesthetic appeal for conservation marketing [28,29] are two examples of a simplistic interpretation of human-wildlife relations. Only by better understanding public attitudes towards and appreciation of bats will it be possible to move conservation strategies beyond simply emphasizing affection to a broader range of human motivations for protecting bat species.…”

Are They Really Trying to Save Their Buddy? The Anthropomorphism of Animal Epimeletic Behaviours

“…Notably, more efficient communication is required about the threat of biological invasions and climate change on some species, using the symbols [10] that attract, affect and alert the public. Human emotions play an important role in animal protection and wildlife conservation [160]. Animal ethics is a fundamental question for human beings-not simply because it concerns animals, but because it brings humans back to their original roots.…”

Are They Really Trying to Save Their Buddy? The Anthropomorphism of Animal Epimeletic Behaviours

“…Notably, more efficient communication is required about the threat of biological invasions and climate change on some species, using the symbols [10] that attract, affect and alert the public. Human emotions play an important role in animal protection and wildlife conservation [159]. Animal ethics is a fundamental question for human beings -not simply because it concerns animals, but because it brings humans back to their original roots.…”