Conservation Welfare Research Articles

Community-level awareness and attitudes towards human-monkey conflict in Polonnaruwa district, Sri Lanka.

As the demand for resources has increased with the high population growth rate, people have been tempted to encroach on wildlife areas for activities such as logging, animal husbandry, agriculture, and developmental projects. This has led to the spread of human-inhabited areas into wildlife habitats and resulting conflict between humans and wildlife. Human-monkey conflict (HMC) is a developing issue in Sri Lanka, negatively impacting both nonhuman primate conservation and human welfare. To address and mitigate HMC, it is essential to assess community-level awareness about nonhuman primates in order to mitigate such conflict. The aim of this study was to evaluate awareness and public perception towards diurnal monkeys in Polonnaruwa district in North Central Sri Lanka. A structured questionnaire survey (N = 200) was carried out from December 2018 to November 2019. Respondents' knowledge about monkeys was found to depend on gender and occupation. Respondents' attitudes towards monkeys were dependent on gender, ethnic group, religion, state of education, and monthly household income. Those who had experienced many disturbances from monkeys held more negative attitudes towards monkeys than others. A nonlethal multidisciplinary approach is critical to reducing the increasing HMC in Polonnaruwa district. Similar approaches can be operated in other areas where human-wildlife conflict is causing strain on wildlife conservation and human welfare.

Human-Animal Interactions in Zoos: What Can Compassionate Conservation, Conservation Welfare and Duty of Care Tell Us about the Ethics of Interacting, and Avoiding Unintended Consequences?

Simple SummaryThis article is an examination of human–animal interactions in zoos from an ethical perspective, their benefits to both human and animal participants, and also their potential risks and ethical dilemmas. Contact with animals can be beneficial for all parties involved, and can indeed lead to pro-conservation and respect for nature behaviours being adopted by humans after so-called “profound experiences” of connecting or interacting with animals. Yet, human–animal interactions may also increase certain individuals’ desires for inappropriate wild-animal ‘pet’ ownership, and can convey a false sense of acceptability of exploiting animals for “cheap titillation”. Three ethical frameworks that may be beneficial for ethically run zoos to incorporate when considering human–animal interactions are: Compassionate Conservation, Conservation Welfare and Duty of Care. Human–animal interactions in zoos may be acceptable in many circumstances, and may be beneficial to both animal and human participants; however, they must be closely monitored through welfare tracking tools. Melding Duty of Care and the two Conservation ethical frameworks would be ideal for assessing the ethical acceptability of such interactions.Human–animal interactions (HAIs) in zoos can be rewarding for both humans and animals, but can also be fraught with ethical and welfare perils. Contact with animals can be beneficial for all parties involved, and can indeed lead to pro-conservation and respect for nature behaviours being adopted by humans after so-called “profound experiences” of connecting or interacting with animals. Yet, human–animal interactions may also increase certain individuals’ desires for inappropriate wild-animal ‘pet’ ownership, and can convey a false sense of acceptability of exploiting animals for “cheap titillation”. Indeed, this has been reflected in a recent research review conducted on animal–visitor interactions in zoos from a number of different countries and global regions. These are unintended consequences that ”modern, ethical zoos” would try to minimise, or avoid completely where possible, though most zoos still offer close-contact experiences with their animals. Three ethical frameworks that may be beneficial for ethically run zoos to incorporate when considering human–animal interactions are: Compassionate Conservation, Conservation Welfare and Duty of Care. These three ethical frameworks are concerned with the welfare state and outcomes for individual animals, not just the population or species. Human–animal interactions in zoos may be acceptable in many circumstances and may be beneficial to both animal and human participants; however, they must be closely monitored through welfare tracking tools. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has published guidelines for human–animal interactions that are mandatory for member institutions to adhere to, although whether these guidelines are taken as mandatory or suggestions at individual institutions is unknown. Some suggestions for relevant extensions to the guidelines are suggested herein. Melding Duty of Care and the two Conservation ethical frameworks would be ideal for assessing the ethical acceptability of such interactions as they currently occur, and for considering how they should be modified to occur (or not) into the future in zoological settings.

I Am a Compassionate Conservation Welfare Scientist: Considering the Theoretical and Practical Differences Between Compassionate Conservation and Conservation Welfare.

Simple SummaryThe well-being of individual wild animals is threatened in many ways, including by activities aiming to conserve species, ecosystems and biodiversity, i.e., conservation activities. Scientists working in two related disciplines, Compassionate Conservation and Conservation Welfare, are attentive to the well-being of individual wild animals. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the commonalities between these disciplines and to consider key differences, in order to stimulate discussion among interested parties and use our collective expertise and energy to best effect. An emerging scenario, the use of genetic technologies for control of introduced animals, is used to explore the ways each discipline might respond to novel conservation-related threats to wild animal well-being.Compassionate Conservation and Conservation Welfare are two disciplines whose practitioners advocate consideration of individual wild animals within conservation practice and policy. However, they are not, as is sometimes suggested, the same. Compassionate Conservation and Conservation Welfare are based on different underpinning ethics, which sometimes leads to conflicting views about the kinds of conservation activities and decisions that are acceptable. Key differences between the disciplines appear to relate to their views about which wild animals can experience harms, the kinds of harms they can experience and how we can know about and confidently evidence those harms. Conservation Welfare scientists seek to engage with conservation scientists with the aim of facilitating ongoing incremental improvements in all aspects of conservation, i.e., minimizing harms to animals. In contrast, it is currently unclear how the tenets of Compassionate Conservation can be used to guide decision-making in complex or novel situations. Thus, Conservation Welfare may offer modern conservationists a more palatable approach to integrating evidence-based consideration of individual sentient animals into conservation practice and policy.

Balancing Environmental Conservation and Socioeconomic Welfare: Sustainable Cultivation of Suboptimal Lands in Pulau Burung District of Riau Province

Due to its complex and often difficult nature, suboptimal lands are either under-utilized and left as abandoned space or over-utilized and generate environment problems. In reality, it can be the answer to the future challenge in 2050, where the growing population needs more food to survive. It results in intense competition in land conversion to agricultural and nonagricultural purposes. This paper introduces Water Management Trinity as an integrated water management system applied to exert the highest benefits from sustainable suboptimal lands cultivation in Pulau Burung District for at least the last 50 years. The three main components: the canal, the dike, also the dam and water gate principally regulate the freshwater from the precipitation events. With a cumulative length of more than 4000 km, the canals hold a volume of at least 45 million m3 of freshwater. Combined with the soil technology, the current agriculture practice is proven to reduce environmental damage by maintaining the land humidity so that the fire and flooding risk are both diminished while the land subsidence rate is kept under 0-4 cm/year in the last ten years. Simultaneously, the local socioeconomic sector flourishes as the system secures the water requirement for plant commodities production and supports freshwater supply.

China and CITES: Strange Bedfellows or Willing Partners?

Using the lens of international norm dynamics, this article explores increasing contestation around the global norm to protect endangered species from over exploitation. Focusing on China’s recent announcement that it may lift its 25-year moratorium on the use of rhino horn and tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine, and calls from some African states for increased international trade in rhino, this article explores current threats to the norm. As international discourse around the norm moves from debates about its applicability to fundamental challenges to its validity, the norm is weakening. To protect the norm, it has become necessary to adopt less traditional approaches to the interpretation of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by member states. Going forward, CITES debates about how best to protect endangered species should emphasise both conservation and animal welfare concerns.

"Feelings and Fitness" Not "Feelings or Fitness"-The Raison d'être of Conservation Welfare, Which Aligns Conservation and Animal Welfare Objectives.

Increasingly, human activities, including those aimed at conserving species and ecosystems (conservation activities) influence not only the survival and fitness but also the welfare of wild animals. Animal welfare relates to how an animal is experiencing its life and encompasses both its physical and mental states. While conservation biology and animal welfare science are both multi-disciplinary fields that use scientific methods to address concerns about animals, their focus and objectives sometimes appear to conflict. However, activities impacting detrimentally on the welfare of individual animals also hamper achievement of some conservation goals, and societal acceptance is imperative to the continuation of conservation activities. Thus, the best outcomes for both disciplines will be achieved through collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Despite this recognition, cross-disciplinary information-sharing and collaborative research and practice in conservation are still rare, with the exception of the zoo context. This paper summarizes key points developed by a group of conservation and animal welfare scientists discussing scientific assessment of wild animal welfare and barriers to progress. The dominant theme emerging was the need for a common language to facilitate cross-disciplinary progress in understanding and safeguarding the welfare of animals of wild species. Current conceptions of welfare implicit in conservation science, based mainly on “fitness” (physical states), need to be aligned with contemporary animal welfare science concepts which emphasize the dynamic integration of “fitness” and “feelings” (mental experiences) to holistically understand animals' welfare states. The way in which animal welfare is characterized influences the way it is evaluated and the emphasis put on different features of welfare, as well as, the importance placed on the outcomes of such evaluations and how that information is used, for example in policy development and decision-making. Salient examples from the New Zealand and Australian context are presented to illustrate. To genuinely progress our understanding and evaluation of wild animal welfare and optimize the aims of both scientific disciplines, conservation and animal welfare scientists should work together to evolve and apply a common understanding of welfare. To facilitate this, we propose the formal development of a new discipline, Conservation Welfare, integrating the expertise of scientists from both fields.

Multi-scale dynamic maps for the management of invading and established wildlife populations: brushtail possums in New Zealand

Context The abundance and distribution of mammalian species often change in response to environmental variability, losses or gains in suitable habitat and, in the case of pest species, control programs. Consequently, conventional distribution maps rapidly become out of date and fail to provide useful information for wildlife managers. For invasive brushtail possum populations in New Zealand, the main causes of change are control programs by central and local government agencies, and post-control recovery through recolonisation and in situ recruitment. Managers need to know current, and likely future, possum population levels relative to control targets to help assess success at preventing the spread of disease or for protecting indigenous species. Information on the outcomes of government-funded possum control needs to be readily available to members of the general public interested in issues such as conservation, disease management and animal welfare. Aims To produce dynamic, scalable maps of the current and predicted future distribution and abundance of possums in New Zealand, taking into account changes due to control, and to use recent visualisation technology to make this information accessible to managers and the general public for assessing control strategies at multiple spatial scales. Methods We updated an existing individual-based spatial model of possum population dynamics, extending it to represent all individuals in a national population of up to 40 million. In addition, we created a prototype interface for interactive web-based presentation of the model’s predictions. Key results The improved capability of the new model for assessing possum management at local-to-national scales provided for real-time, mapped updates and forecasts of the distribution and abundance of possums in New Zealand. The versatility of this platform was illustrated using scenarios for current and emerging issues in New Zealand. These are hypothetical incursions of possums, reinvasion of large areas cleared of possums, and impacts on animal welfare of national-scale management of possums as vectors of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Conclusions The new individual-based spatial model for possum populations in New Zealand demonstrated the utility of combining models of wildlife population dynamics with high-speed computing capability to provide up-to-date, easily accessible information on a species’ distribution and abundance. Applications include predictions for future changes in response to incursions, reinvasion and large-scale possum control. Similar models can be used for other species for which there are suitable demographic data, typically pest species, harvested species or species with a high conservation value. Implications Models such as the spatial model for possums in New Zealand can provide platforms for (1) real-time visualisation of wildlife distribution and abundance, (2) reporting and assessing progress towards achieving management goals at multiple scales, (3) use as a decision-support tool to scope potential changes in wildlife populations or simulate the outcomes of alternative management strategies, and (4) making information about pest control publicly available.

Attitudes Toward Bile Extraction From Living Bears: Survey of Citizens and Students in Beijing

ABSTRACTBear bile is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for millennia. Several arguments support and oppose the use of bear farming in terms of conservation and nonhuman animal welfare. This study involved designing a questionnaire and surveying a random sample of general citizens and college students in Beijing to elicit their attitudes on bile extraction from living bears. Older people and people with lower education levels used more bear bile medicines. In total, 29.47% (n = 204) of citizens and 23.14% (n = 81) of students surveyed used bear bile medicine since 1990. Students were less willing to use bear bile medicines than citizens (p < .05). The level the respondents agreed with the blue side (against the extraction of bile from living bears; anti for short) was significantly higher than that for the red side (support the extraction of bile from living bears; pro for short; p < .05). Additionally, college students had a more distinct attitude toward the opposing views, which indicates they were more inclined to oppose bile extraction from living bears.

Ecotourism in Kerala - a case study on empowering the indigenous community

The tribal communities are one of the highly marginalised groups and not many studies addresses the existing tribal welfare opportunities and practices available in the ecotourism destinations. This study illustrates the conservation governance model that dovetails cogently the imperatives of conservation, livelihoods and economic production has been documented. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is one of the most popular ecotourism sites in India. This paper highlights innovative practices adopted at the reserve with an intention of replicating these procedures elsewhere. The study identified possible direct and indirect benefits bestowed on the local community and ecology by tourism such as transformation of the reserve into cattle free, plastic free, poacher free, fire free zone and also strategies that led to the generation of sizable revenue directed towards conservation and community welfare. Several implications of ecotourism are introduced and recommendations for future research are presented.

Aiming for the biodiversity target with the social welfare arrow: medicinal and other useful plants from a Critically Endangered grassland ecosystem in Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACTUnderprivileged communities rely on beneficial plants for medicinal and cultural purposes as well as income generation. They are marginalised by land use planners, politicians and municipalities, resulting in biased integrated development and increased poverty. A case in point, is the Critically Endangered Woodbush Granite Grassland (WGG) in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The WGG has high plant biodiversity (661 species in 192 ha), which includes 18 Red Listed taxa and 36 taxa protected by existing legislation. Although 18% of the plant species have medicinal properties and the area is a source of plants used for medicine and hand brushes, this is the first ethnobotanical study to be undertaken here. Structured interview schedules were conducted with 54 people who were using plants from the area, and a list of the top 20 medicinal plants was compiled. Respondents raised concerns regarding the impact of fire management and 69% of traditional healers noted increasing difficulty in finding useful plants in the last decade. The majority of plant harvesters supported choices related to protecting the ecosystem. Propagated plants were considered to be an option by 60% of plant harvesters but serious risks to success were raised, suggesting that in situ biodiversity preservation was key to securing traditional healthcare and cultural practice. The socio-ecological system that exists is described and requires recognition by state bodies responsible for conservation and social welfare.

Clear as daylight: analysis of diurnal raptor pellets for small mammal studies

Non–invasive approaches are increasingly investigated and applied in studies of small mammal assemblages because they are more cost–effective and bypass conservation and animal welfare issues. However, pellets of diurnal raptors have rarely been used for these purposes. We evaluated the potential of marsh harrier pellets (Circus aeruginosus) as a non–invasive method to sample small mammal assemblages, by comparing the results with those of sampling using Sherman live–traps and pitfalls. The three methods were applied simultaneously in an agricultural–wetland complex in NW Portugal. Estimates of species richness, diversity, evenness, abundance, and proportion of each species within the assemblage showed significant differences between the three methods. Our results suggest that the use of marsh harrier pellets is more effective in inventorying small mammal species than either of the two kinds of traps, while also avoiding any involuntary fatalities associated with the sampling of small non–volant mammals. Moreover, the analysis of pellets was the most cost–effective method. Comparison of the two trapping methodologies showed involuntary fatalities were higher in pitfalls than in Sherman traps. We discuss the advantages and flaws of the three methods, both from technical and conservational perspectives.

The Ethics of Payment for Ecosystem Services

The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an economic tool that has emerged in recent years as a mechanism to promote conservation of natural resources, as well as that of various goods and services commonly used. However, its application in practice raises a number of ethical concerns that this study seeks to discuss. The concept and benefits of PES are discussed, emphasizing its neoclassical economic nature background and how the initial anthropogenic position has evolved into a more holistic ecosystem vision. The paper examines some of the relationships between ethics and ecosystem services as well as the natural conflicts emerging from the opposition of utilitarian economic values versus moral arguments and deontological ethical systems. Then, a justification for ethics in payment for ecosystem services is provided as an attempt to solve perceived conflicts between conservation and human welfare. Later, the right to benefit from natural resources and PES is discussed. The conflict between natural resources as public goods whose use is a universal right for all human beings and the property rights, either legal or ancestral, of indigenous and originary people is stressed. Finally, the future of ethics and ecosystem services on issues such as the well-being of future generations and the search of an efficient integration based on land planning and conservation management strategies is discussed. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the need for a better, integrated accounting of the benefits and costs of nature conservation, which will probably only occur when teams of natural and social scientists work together.

Ultimately, Too Many Human Animals, Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Ultimately, Too Many Human Animals, Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Wildlife Conservation and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Wildlife Conservation and Human Welfare: A United States and Canadian Perspective

Wildlife, conservation, and human welfare: a United States and Canadian perspective

Wildlife, conservation, and human welfare: a United States and Canadian perspective

Conservation and Animal Welfare

The increasing impact of humans on the earth might be expected to unite campaigners on behalf of animals and the environment. This is not always the case. There's more than a difference between animal welfare and conservation movements: identifying and understanding these differences will be an important factor in attempting to reconcile these two groups of people. Such reconciliation is worth aiming for, since the human threat is in many ways a real one, and animal and environmental campaigners would be better off allied than divided.

Tackling conservation/welfare conflicts in the management of wild animals

During the last century there were two distinct and profound changes in attitudes to animals. First, it became widely understood that human activities and anthropogenic changes to the environment present a serious threat to biological diversity. In response to this many programmes to protect habitat and to conserve species have been launched. Second, advances in various fields of science led to a strengthening belief in many societies that a wide range of animals may have the capacity for consciousness and thus suffering. This has led to growing concern for the welfare of animals - the quality of their lives - and to the development of extensive bodies of welfare legislation in many countries. Concerns for species conservation and concerns for individual animal welfare do not always pull in the same direction. Around the world, conflicts are becoming commonplace between those who believe it can be justifiable to compromise the interests of individual animals in order to prevent species extinctions and those who do not. Such conflicts may be addressed and hopefully avoided or minimized through use of an ethical review process in which conservation benefits and welfare costs are carefully identified, considered and weighed in a cost/benefit analysis. A second function of this review process is to ensure that, where the decision is taken to proceed with a conservation programme that may adversely affect the welfare of some individuals, all necessary steps are taken to minimize these threats and their possible impacts.

Conservation regulation: a backward step for biodiversity?

An analysis, particularly from the UK and European Community perspectives, of the way in which the law dealing with the conservation of species and habitats has the potential effect, in some cases, of frustrating the comprehensive preservation of biological diversity. It is proposed that this state of affairs may have come about through the emphasis of one species to the detriment of others or through the failure to address comprehensive inter-species and habitat relationships. One of the propositions is that the application of protection to specific species, through conservation and wild animal welfare provisions, has been implemented in an arbitrary manner in the context of biodiversity preservation or in terms of an animal's level of sentiency or position on the phylogenetic scale. Another proposition is that the law has failed to protect and preserve the 'commonplace' in biodiversity and thus risks losing key components of ecosystems. Finally, the analysis examines the way in which traditional practices such as hunting with hounds may contribute to or frustrate biodiversity preservation.

Conflict or compatibility? The trade, conservation and animal welfare dimensions of cites

While analysis of the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) often focuses on its ability to ensure sustainable trade in the species it regulates, the treaty also contains many provisions intended to ensure the welfare of species introduced into international trade. While such provisions serve salutary objectives, they are often complied with only in the breach. Efforts should be made by the Parties to CITES to ensure implementation of the animal welfare provisions of CITES through stricter enforcement measures, enactment of national legislation and an interpretation of treaty provisions that furthers the underlying welfare objectives of the Convention.