scholarly journals Reducing Pangolin Demand by Understanding Motivations for Human Consumption in Guangdong, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuhua Zhang ◽  
Yishuang Yu ◽  
Shibao Wu ◽  
Amna Mahmood ◽  
Jiaming Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Disease Treatment ◽  
Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽  
Alternative Medicines ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
The Status ◽  
Future Consumption

Pangolins are some of the most trafficked mammals in the world. China is a major destination country for illegal wildlife trade and Guangdong Province is one of the areas of high domestic wildlife consumption. A willingness to consume lies at the root of the illegal wildlife trade. To understand the ideological roots of pangolin consumption, and to propose solutions, we conducted a consumption survey in 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong and have collected 1,957 valid questionnaires. In these questionnaires, 108 respondents (5.52%) who had consumed pangolin-related products, scales had been consumed by 61 respondents (3.12%), 58 respondents (2.96%) had consumed meat. We found that scale consumption was primarily motivated by disease treatment (80.43%). The main reason for meat consumption was accidental (44.83%), but among those who intentionally ate pangolin were motivated by curiosity (22.41%) or “showing off” (8.62%). Simultaneously, the respondents' future consumption willingness for medicinal purposes was more difficult to change than its use for other purposes. What's more, the public's insufficient understanding of the status of pangolins in China and weak legal awareness were potential reasons for pangolin consumption. In addition to classifying pangolins as Category I state-protected animals in China and strengthening penalties and enforcement, we recommend creating public awareness of the risk of zoonotic diseases, advocating for the use of alternative medicines in disease treatment and removing scales from ingredients in patented medicines, which will all act to reduce the demand for pangolins. We expect these actions to change public consumption behaviors and their collective understanding of pangolins, which improve pangolin protection efforts around the globe.

scholarly journals Anthropomorphic Strategies Promote Wildlife Conservation through Empathy: The Moderation Role of the Public Epidemic Situation

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3565
Author(s):  
Dan Yue ◽  
Zepeng Tong ◽  
Jianchi Tian ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Linxiu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽  
The Impact

The global illegal wildlife trade directly threatens biodiversity and leads to disease outbreaks and epidemics. In order to avoid the loss of endangered species and ensure public health security, it is necessary to intervene in illegal wildlife trade and promote public awareness of the need for wildlife conservation. Anthropomorphism is a basic and common psychological process in humans that plays a crucial role in determining how a person interacts with other non-human agents. Previous research indicates that anthropomorphizing nature entities through metaphors could increase individual behavioral intention of wildlife conservation. However, relatively little is known about the mechanism by which anthropomorphism influences behavioral intention and whether social context affects the effect of anthropomorphism. This research investigated the impact of negative emotions associated with a pandemic situation on the effectiveness of anthropomorphic strategies for wildlife conservation across two experimental studies. Experiment 1 recruited 245 college students online and asked them to read a combination of texts and pictures as anthropomorphic materials. The results indicated that anthropomorphic materials could increase participants’ empathy and decrease their wildlife product consumption intention. Experiment 2 recruited 140 college students online and they were required to read the same materials as experiment 1 after watching a video related to epidemics. The results showed that the effect of wildlife anthropomorphization vanished if participants’ negative emotion was aroused by the video. The present research provides experimental evidence that anthropomorphic strategies would be useful for boosting public support for wildlife conservation. However, policymakers and conservation organizations must be careful about the negative effects of the pandemic context, as the negative emotions produced by it seems to weaken the effectiveness of anthropomorphic strategies.

scholarly journals In the post-COVID-19 era, is the illegal wildlife trade the most serious form of trafficking?

Crime Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sean Doody ◽  
Joan A. Reid ◽  
Klejdis Bilali ◽  
Jennifer Diaz ◽  
Nichole Mattheus
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽  
Current Events ◽  
Strategic Policy ◽  
Wildlife Trafficking

AbstractDespite the immense impact of wildlife trafficking, comparisons of the profits, costs, and seriousness of crime consistently rank wildlife trafficking lower relative to human trafficking, drug trafficking and weapons trafficking. Using the published literature and current events, we make the case, when properly viewed within the context of COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases transmitted from wildlife, that wildlife trafficking is the most costly and perhaps the most serious form of trafficking. Our synthesis should raise awareness of the seriousness of wildlife trafficking for humans, thereby inducing strategic policy decisions that boost criminal justice initiatives and resources to combat wildlife trafficking.

Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa (Griffith, 1821) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in illegal wildlife trade in Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 17229-17234
Author(s):  
Yadav Ghimirey ◽  
Raju Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Illegal Trade ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽  
Neofelis Nebulosa

We document trade of the Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Nepal based on pelt seizure reports published in wildlife trade reports and in newspapers.  Just 27 cases in three decades seem little to suggest targeted illegal trade of the species, the seizure information in recent years indicate that illegal trade of Clouded Leopard body parts is still taking place.  Hence an in-depth assessment is necessary to understand properly the intensity and magnitude of illegal trade on Clouded Leopard in the country.

scholarly journals Camera Trapping to Assess Status and Composition of Mammal Communities in a Biodiversity Hotspot in Myanmar

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 880
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cremonesi ◽  
Francesco Bisi ◽  
Lorenzo Gaffi ◽  
Thet Zaw ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Disturbed Area ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mammal Communities

Tropical forests comprise a critically impacted habitat, and it is known that altered forests host a lower diversity of mammal communities. In this study, we investigated the mammal communities of two areas in Myanmar with similar environmental conditions but with great differences in habitat degradation and human disturbance. The main goal was to understand the status and composition of these communities in an understudied area like Myanmar at a broad scale. Using camera trap data from a three-year-long campaign and hierarchical occupancy models with a Bayesian formulation, we evaluated the biodiversity level (species richness) and different ecosystem functions (diet and body mass), as well as the occupancy values of single species as a proxy for population density. We found a lower mammal diversity in the disturbed area, with a significantly lower number of carnivores and herbivores species. Interestingly, the area did not show alteration in its functional composition. Almost all the specific roles in the community were present except for apex predators, thus suggesting that the effects of human disturbance are mainly effecting the communities highest levels. Furthermore, two species showed significantly lower occupancies in the disturbed area during all the monitoring campaigns: one with a strong pressure for bushmeat consumption and a vulnerable carnivore threatened by illegal wildlife trade.

scholarly journals International network for capacity building for the control of emerging viral vector-borne zoonotic diseases: ARBO-ZOONET

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Ahmed ◽  
M Bouloy ◽  
O Ergonul ◽  
A. R. Fooks ◽  
J Paweska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Capacity Building ◽  
Viral Vector ◽  
Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Fever Virus ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
West Nile Fever ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Vector Borne

Arboviruses are arthropod-borne viruses, which include West Nile fever virus (WNFV), a mosquito-borne virus, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a mosquito-borne virus, and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a tick-borne virus. These arthropod-borne viruses can cause disease in different domestic and wild animals and in humans, posing a threat to public health because of their epidemic and zoonotic potential. In recent decades, the geographical distribution of these diseases has expanded. Outbreaks of WNF have already occurred in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean basin. Moreover, CCHF is endemic in many European countries and serious outbreaks have occurred, particularly in the Balkans, Turkey and Southern Federal Districts of Russia. In 2000, RVF was reported for the first time outside the African continent, with cases being confirmed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. This spread was probably caused by ruminant trade and highlights that there is a threat of expansion of the virus into other parts of Asia and Europe. In the light of global warming and globalisation of trade and travel, public interest in emerging zoonotic diseases has increased. This is especially evident regarding the geographical spread of vector-borne diseases. A multi-disciplinary approach is now imperative, and groups need to collaborate in an integrated manner that includes vector control, vaccination programmes, improved therapy strategies, diagnostic tools and surveillance, public awareness, capacity building and improvement of infrastructure in endemic regions.

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