Attitudes towards wildlife conservation

Abstract

People's attitudes towards the conservation of Australian wildlife is of particular importance as the types of attitudes people hold can have a significant impact on conservation solutions. We investigated attitudes held towards Australian wildlife and conservation solutions. A sample of 312 residents participated in an online questionnaire. An ‘ecoscientistic’ attitude was the most commonly held attitude, highlighting that wildlife are appreciated for the role they play within our ecosystem. There was a significant association between age and attitude towards Koala Phascolarctos cinereus and Crownof-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci conservation and a significant association between socio-economic status and attitude towards Brush-turkey Alectura lathami conservation. Most participants agreed that action should be taken towards wildlife conservation in the future. Conservation managers and other key stakeholders need to capitalise on this information to increase public support for Australian wildlife, and encourage conservation action. Significant associations between attitude and some sociodemographic characteristics were observed, however more research between attitude and sociodemographic associations is recommended, including in other regions of Australia and internationally.