Why humans kill animals and why we cannot avoid it

Allen, Benjamin L.; Bobier, Christopher; Dawson, Stuart J.; Fleming, Peter J. S.; Hampton, Jordan O.; Jachowski, David S.; Kerley, Graham I.H.; Linnell, John Durrus; Marnewick, Kelly; Minnie, Liaan; Muthersbaugh, Michael S.; O’Riain, M. Justin; Parker, Daniel M.; Proulx, Gilbert; Somers, Michael J.; Titus, Keifer

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165283

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 155 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In line with the rational choice theory (Scott, 2000), the chosen course of action should aim to maximize effectivity while minimizing associated costs. Given that people tend to want to kill animals they consider ugly or dangerous (Allen et al, 2023;Prokop & Randler, 2018) and considering that the killing of insects, particularly those with low aesthetic or practical value, is generally not viewed as unethical by most people (Kellert, 1993;Rozin & Ruby, 2020), a straightforward lethal approach is likely to be the preferred option.…”

Section: Insecticide Use and Biophobiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Does aversion to insects affect insecticide use? An elusive answer calls for improved methods in biophobia research

Gish,

Hisano,

Soga

2024

People and Nature

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Insecticides are commonly used to control insects and other arthropods in homes (hereafter collectively referred to as ‘insects’). Although aversion to insects might encourage the use of insecticides, it is unclear whether such feelings truly influence the decision to use insecticides. We investigated the connection between feelings of disgust towards insects and the use of household insecticides. Our aim was to uncover the unexplored emotional drivers of insecticide use, in order to provide insights that might help develop new programmes to reduce exposure to household insecticides. We conducted an online survey (n = 2500) that focussed on insecticide use and disgust feelings towards six species commonly found in homes (cockroaches, ants, spiders, mosquitoes, flies and centipedes). Respondents rated their level of disgust towards these species and reported various beliefs and practices related to household insects and insect control. Approximately 70% of respondents expressed strong disgust towards these species (ratings of 6 or 7 on a scale of 1–7). More than half (53.3%) reported using aerosol insecticides in their homes in the 6 months prior to the survey. Path analyses highlighted several factors that influenced insecticide use, including infestation level, disgust intensity, lack of knowledge about arthropods and aversion to chemicals. However, the observed effect sizes were modest, particularly regarding the influence of disgust on insecticide use, which somewhat constrains our study's contribution to the understanding of the motivators driving household insecticide use. We explain how our findings potentially reflect a critical methodological limitation in the standard methods commonly used for measuring aversion in biophobia (fear of nature) research. This limitation originates from the fact that highly aversive animals often provoke extreme reactions from most participants, resulting in a very low data variation that hinders data analysis. We address this concern in the context of our findings and propose potential solutions that could pave the way for future research on how attitudes towards highly aversive animals affect individuals, society, and the relationships between people and nature. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

show abstract

Section: Insecticide Use and Biophobiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Does aversion to insects affect insecticide use? An elusive answer calls for improved methods in biophobia research

Gish,

Hisano,

Soga

2024

People and Nature

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Lethal control is considered by most people to be unacceptable [24] and is no longer permitted in most range countries [25,26]. Rather, removal of problem elephants from conflict areas by translocation, domestication, or driving them into protected areas are commonly practiced to mitigate HEC [27][28][29][30][31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes towards the Potential Use of Aversive Geofencing Devices to Manage Wild Elephant Movement

Cabral de Mel,

Seneweera,

Dangolla

et al. 2023

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aversive geofencing devices (AGDs) or animal-borne satellite-linked shock collars might become a useful tool to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC). AGDs have the potential to condition problem elephants to avoid human-dominated landscapes by associating mild electric shocks with preceding audio warnings given as they approach virtual boundaries. We assessed the opinions of different stakeholders (experts, farmers, and others who have and have not experienced HEC; n = 611) on the potential use of AGDs on Asian elephants. Most respondents expressed positive opinions on the potential effectiveness of AGDs in managing elephant movement (62.2%). About 62.8% respondents also provided positive responses for the acceptability of AGDs if pilot studies with captive elephants have been successful in managing their movements. Some respondents perceived AGDs to be unacceptable because they are unethical or harmful and would be unsuccessful given wild elephants may respond differently to AGDs than captive elephants. Respondents identified acceptability, support and awareness of stakeholders, safety and wellbeing of elephants, logistical difficulties, durability and reliable functionality of AGDs, and uncertainties in elephants’ responses to AGDs as potential challenges for implementing AGDs. These issues need attention when developing AGDs to increase support from stakeholders and to effectively reduce HEC incidents in the future.

show abstract

The intrinsic moral value of individuals: A bioethical approach to domestic cats and damaged species

Natoli

2024

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Why humans kill animals and why we cannot avoid it

Cited by 4 publications

References 155 publications

Does aversion to insects affect insecticide use? An elusive answer calls for improved methods in biophobia research

Does aversion to insects affect insecticide use? An elusive answer calls for improved methods in biophobia research

Attitudes towards the Potential Use of Aversive Geofencing Devices to Manage Wild Elephant Movement

The intrinsic moral value of individuals: A bioethical approach to domestic cats and damaged species

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About