Abstract
Unsustainable wildlife trade is a pervasive issue affecting wildlife globally. To address this issue, a plethora of demand reduction efforts have been carried out. These necessitate consumer research which provides crucial knowledge for designing and evaluating targeted interventions. We implemented a rigorous consumer survey on saiga (Saiga tatarica) horn use in Singapore, where usage is legal and widely sold. Saiga are Critically Endangered antelopes from Central Asia with horns (often marketed as ling yang) used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Few past studies have assessed saiga horn consumers. This work is the most extensive consumer research to date specifically characterising saiga horn consumers and usage. We conducted 2294 in-person surveys on saiga horn use with Chinese Singaporeans, employing neutral questioning approaches. We found 19% of individuals reported saiga horn as a product they choose most often for themselves and/or others when treating fever and/or heatiness (a TCM state of illness), indicating a minimum estimate of high-frequency usage, not including possible low-frequency users. Overall saiga users were most characterised as middle-aged Buddhists and Taoists. However, saiga users were found in a range of demographic groups. Women preferred saiga shavings (the more traditional form), while men preferred saiga cooling water (the more modern form). About 53% of individuals who used saiga horn themselves also bought it for someone else. Buyers for others were most likely to be female middle-aged Buddhists or Taoists. Key motivating reasons for usage were “it works” and “someone recommended it to me.” The top two reported recommenders were family and TCM shopkeepers. Saiga users were more likely than non-saiga users to perceive saiga as a common species in the wild. This research holds significance for interventions targeting saiga horn consumption within Singapore and throughout Asia, by identifying potential target audiences, product types, non-desirable alternatives, and motivations for use.
Highlights
Goods made from wild animals are used pervasively across the globe for consumptive, medicinal, and cultural purposes
In addition to ecological impacts, the international transport of wild animals and their parts has been linked to the spread of several diseases, including the 2003 SARS pandemic [3], and illegal wildlife trade has been cited as a threat to local livelihoods and safety [4,5]
In the fields of public health and social marketing, where behavioural interventions have been extensively implemented for decades, this implies rigorously collected datasets, that are defensibly illustrative of the consumer landscape [8,9]
Summary
Goods made from wild animals are used pervasively across the globe for consumptive, medicinal, and cultural purposes. In the fields of public health and social marketing, where behavioural interventions have been extensively implemented for decades, this implies rigorously collected datasets, that are defensibly illustrative of the consumer landscape [8,9]. In recent years those working in illegal and/or unsustainable wildlife trade have acknowledged shortcomings in the design, implementation, and evaluation of behavioural interventions targeting wildlife consumers [10,11]. Similar points have been made across conservation, when assessing the social studies that are often used to inform or evaluate human behaviour interventions [13] These methodological shortcomings likely compromise researchers’ capacity to assess usage of critically endangered species impacted by unsustainable trade
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