Wildlife Consumption Research Articles

Re-Inventing Magnificence: Gaining Status from Contribution Not Consumption

Most luxury consumers link rarity to higher status. It may be a luxury car, yacht, haute-couture fashion and accessories, prestige holiday destinations such as Venice, or purchasing “exotic” wildlife products. For some, legal luxury is not enough to fulfil their status need and they take a step into a world of illegal consumption; this is the case for the buyers of rhino horn in Viet Nam. The desire for rare wildlife “products,” both legal and illegal is increasing rapidly. Legally, the desire to supply means species are both captive bred en masse and legally harvested from the wild to fulfil the demand. Illegally, criminal syndicates have moved beyond simply exploiting the existing demand to manufacturing new markets using the same principles luxury goods manufacturers have used for decades to trigger desire and purchasing decisions. Uncurtailed luxury consumption of exotic wildlife “products” is driving the illegal poaching and unsustainable harvesting of many species. Extinction is a direct result of the “vulgarity of desire” for luxury goods made from endangered species. Battling this trend requires a different approach to traditional conservation methods. Nature Needs More utilises an innovative approach to wildlife conservation, that of “demand reduction.” But demand reduction alone is not enough, there is a need to redirect desire away from both legal and illegal consumption of exotic and endangered species. Nature Needs More combines demand reduction campaigns in SE Asia with work to revive and reinvent Magnificence, a concept steeped in history but subverted by luxury in recent centuries. This paper outlines Nature Needs More’s research in the field, and the mechanisms by which we can provide elites with an alternative to fulfil their self-image and status needs based on contribution instead of consumption of our most fragile heritage.

Will the COVID-19 outbreak be a turning point for China's wildlife protection: New developments and challenges of wildlife conservation in China

On 24 February 2020, at the brink of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Chinese legislature adopted a decision to ban all terrestrial wildlife for food consumption. This decision set the tone for the revision of the Wildlife Protection Law (WPL), planned for release in late 2020. Both the terrestrial wildlife ban and revised WPL have the potential to greatly reduce consumption of wildlife and aid in prevention of future zoonotic disease outbreaks. The government still faces severe challenges in reducing wildlife use in traditional medicine, strengthening habitat and ecosystem conservation, committing to long-term WPL enforcement, and promoting community education and institutional reforms. However, recent progress in establishing a stricter ban on wildlife consumption, consolidating fragmented protected areas, and increased openness to public oversight are promising developments. While it is clear that global pandemics like COVID-19 can cause massive human suffering and disruption of economies; governments can no longer allow business as usual for the wildlife industry, regardless of the monetary or cultural values it brings. Here we discuss the latest development and limitations of the current wildlife legislation in China and the recommendations for improving Chinese wildlife conservation to better protect biodiversity and reduce risks of spreading zoonotic diseases to humans.

Effects of legalization and wildlife farming on conservation

Many wildlife species are impacted by unsustainable consumption. Wildlife is consumed for such diverse purposes as food, medicine, ornamentation, entertainment, and social status. However, it is still debated whether legalization and wildlife farming can saturate demand and thus reduce poaching, or if these policies increase demand, and subsequently poaching of vulnerable wildlife. This paper used an experimental vignette survey in Mainland China (N = 1002) to explore empirically how legalization, wildlife farming, and possible changes in consumptive acceptability affect demand for wildlife products. Each respondent read a vignette about the consumption of a wildlife product from one of four species (bears, tigers, snakes, or turtles), for one of two uses (medicinal or non-medicinal), in one of three legal situations (product is illegal, product is legal and from farmed animal, or product is legal and from wild animal). All respondents were asked about the acceptability of wildlife consumption, the social stigma around consumption, and the perceived legal consequences of consumption for eight products: bear bile, bear paws, tiger bone, tiger skin, snake bile, snake leather, turtle shells, and turtle meat. Data was analyzed using linear regression models that included interaction effects and controlled for age, gender, education, income, and attitudes towards specific species, towards wildlife consumption, and towards Traditional Chinese Medicine. Wildlife product bans decreased the acceptability and social approval of wildlife consumption and increased estimations of legal punishments. The type of ban that produced these effects depended upon the wildlife product and the measurement of wildlife consumption. The effects of wildlife farming on demand for wildlife products were particularly prominent for mammals. Bear farming increased the acceptability and perceived social approval of bear bile; it also decreased perceived legal sanctions for bear consumption. Tiger farming diminished perceived legal sanctions for tiger consumption and farming tigers for medicinal use increased the acceptability of tiger consumption. Overall, these results indicate that bans on wildlife consumption and decreased wildlife farming of mammals can have conservation benefits.

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

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.

The nominative technique: a simple tool for assessing illegal wildlife consumption

AbstractThe aim of our study was to test the efficacy of the nominative technique for estimating the prevalence of wildlife part use within a small sample. We used the domestic consumption of bear Ursus thibetanus and Helarctos malayanus parts in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) as a case study and performed 179 semi-structured interviews in Luang Prabang, northern Laos, in August 2017 and April 2019. We also assessed whether the specialized questioning of the nominative technique could be used for qualitative data collection methods, such as semi-structured interviews. The technique theoretically ensures more accurate statements of illegal wildlife consumption by maintaining the anonymity of an individual's sensitive behaviour through asking about the behaviour of peers. We also directly asked about participants’ use of bear parts. The nominative technique suggested that c. 11% of the participants’ peers used bear parts, whereas respondents’ direct admittance of using bear parts was approximately double, at 23%. Use of bear parts appears not to be sensitive in northern Laos. In addition, we found a strong association between responses to questioning using the nominative technique and direct questioning, indicating that users of bear parts have social networks with higher levels of use. This lends supports to theories that use of wildlife products is directly influenced by social group. The underreporting resulting from use of the nominative technique indicates the high variability of response that can occur within small samples. However, our results show that the nominative technique may be a simple, useful tool for triangulating data, assessing users’ integration into social networks of use, and assessing changes in behaviour prevalence.

Assessing demand reduction measures for rhino horn consumption

AbstractA review of studies that segmented consumers based on their willingness to consume rhino horn are given to identify the various motivational drivers and deterrents of illegal wildlife consumption in China and Vietnam. Medicinal motivations are the most significant stimuli for both Vietnamese and Chinese consumers who believe that the horn treats ailments. A review of campaigns that were developed to generate an awareness of the plight of this endangered species is conducted to highlight the problems of the celebrity‐product degree of fit and eclipsing in the advertisements. We recommend that additional consumer behavior research on demand‐reduction strategies for rhino horn should examine gateway behaviors that initiate consumption; evaluate the viability of diverting demand to substitute products (e.g., synthetic alternatives); investigate the counterfeit market for rhino horn and draw analogies from anticounterfeiting messages to decrease demand for an illicit product; and employ benchmarks to implement and assess the validity of campaigns targeted at Asian consumers to decrease demand. A few research methods are suggested based on the recommendations for future research.

Anticipating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on wildlife.

Author(s): Gaynor, Kaitlyn M; Brashares, Justin S; Gregory, Gillian H; Kurz, David J; Seto, Katherine L; Withey, Lauren S; Fiorella, Kathryn J

Local communities and wildlife consumption bans

Local communities and wildlife consumption bans

Proposed Amendments to the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China

The outbreak of COVID-2019 has focused public attention on China's wildlife-related legal regimes, such as the regulatory regime for wildlife hunting and trade and the animal epidemic prevention regime, which is complex, with the Wildlife Protection Law as the core. On February 24, the standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) issued an emergency legal document, the Decision, which has the effect of banning wildlife consumption, guiding public awareness, and regulating the overall legal system, and directly initiates the revision of the Wildlife Protection Law. On 21 October 2020, the Wildlife Protection Law (draft amendment) was announced. Based on the Decision and the Draft, this paper believes that in future revisions of the Wildlife Protection Law the main focus should be on changing the form of state ownership, establishing a pluralistic protection system, increasing legal penalty, coordinating with other legislation, and concern for individual animal welfare.

Toxoplasma gondii Strain and Dose Effects on Feed Conversion Rate, Body Weight, Serum Antibodies Response, and Systemic Distribution in Intraperitoneally Infected Domestic Turkey Poults.

Toxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is an important foodborne zoonosis affecting a wide range of hosts, including birds. This study investigated the seroconversion, feed conversion rate, weight gain, and parasite tissue tropism as a function of parasite dose and virulence in turkeys. Twenty-five 4-wk-old female domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallapavo) were intraperitoneally infected with two different strains and two doses (105 and 108 tachyzoites/ml) of T. gondii tachyzoites, resulting in four treatment groups. A fifth group of 10 additional birds was intraperitoneally injected with sterile phosphate-buffered saline as a negative control. All birds remained subclinical except for three birds in the two high-dose groups (108 tachyzoites/ml). Survival rate was 88% (22/25). A 92% seroconversion rate was detected in T. gondii-infected birds using a modified agglutination test. Antibody titers as well as weight gain were related to the dose and strain of T. gondii used. Feed conversion rate was higher in the high-dose groups compared with low-dose and control groups, while weight gain was significantly lower at 14 days postinfection in the group infected with 108 tachyzoites/ml of virulent T. gondii strain. Gross lesions were detected in the pancreas and lungs of only one bird, and histopathologic findings varied depending on strain and dose. The organs that most frequently contained T. gondii DNA as detected by quantitative PCR were the brain and the heart, followed by the bursa of Fabricius and the lungs. This study confirmed that turkeys can be infected with T. gondii, and turkeys can show signs of infection when exposed to high doses. Given the increased practice of outdoor-raised livestock and wildlife consumption, continual experimental infection of T. gondii in wild and domestic animals should be pursued.

Insights for reducing the consumption of wildlife: The use of bear bile and gallbladder in Cambodia

Abstract Unsustainable wildlife use is one of the leading threats to earth's biodiversity. Historically, efforts to address this issue have been focused on increasing enforcement and anti‐poaching measures. However, recognition that such supply‐reduction measures may be inefficient has spurred a movement towards consumer research and behaviour change. Here, we used consumer research to investigate the consumption of bear bile and gallbladder in Cambodia. Our aim was to gather key consumer insights such as demographics, beliefs and the identification of trusted individuals and communication channels, which could be used to underpin future behaviour change efforts to reduce the consumption of bear bile and gallbladder. To accomplish this, we conducted 4,512 structured quantitative interviews and 132 qualitative, semi‐structured interviews across Cambodia. We found that although the level of bear bile and gallbladder consumption varied across the country, consumers were largely homogenous in their beliefs and choice of trusted messengers. This indicates that behaviour change interventions grounded in these results may be effective in any of the eight areas surveyed. We believe our study strategy can be adapted and followed by other conservation organizations to ensure they are capturing essential information necessary for designing effective behaviour change campaigns. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Attitudes towards Wildlife Consumption inside and outside Hubei Province, China, in Relation to the SARS and COVID-19 Outbreaks.

We designed a self-administered 20-item questionnaire to determine changes in attitudes towards wildlife consumption in Chinese adults during the SARS epidemic in 2002–2003 and on-going COVID-19 pandemic that was first identified in December 2019. A total of 348 adults (177 males and 171 females) with a mean age of 29.4 ± 8.5 years participated, the majority (66.7%) from Hubei. The percentages of participants who had eaten wildlife significantly decreased from 27.0% during SARS to 17.8% during COVID-19 (P = 0.032). The most common reason participants provided for consuming wildlife was to try something novel (64.9% during SARS and 54.8% during COVID-19). More than half of participants (≥53.5%) reported that they had stopped eating wildlife meat because most species of wildlife are legally protected. Our study results indicate over the period between the SARS epidemic to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, attitudes towards the consumption of wildlife in China have changed significantly.

THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON THE TOURISM SECTOR WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MALAYSIA

The outbreak of Novel Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has enormous economic consequences. It happened in the Wuhan city of China and rapidly spread across the world. While the Chinese economy has taken a major hit, the consequences extend far beyond the borders of China. Tourism is among the economic sectors that have been profoundly affected by the viral outbreak. Due to strong economic links with China, Malaysia has suffered enormous economic losses. Extended lockdowns, flight disruptions and other measures taken to contain the infection, and releasing stimulus packages have caused considerable downturn in the economic growth. A genesis of the pandemic origin and transmission is necessary not only to mitigate the prevailing situation but also preventing a repeat of such an event in the future. The coronavirus outbreak is a wake-up call for insulating the society and economy, especially the most vulnerable sectors. Although the outbreak happened in December 2019, it continues to inflict health hazards and economic meltdown. This should serve to demonstrate the significance of preventing the new infections without delay. It all started from the unregulated consumption of wildlife and the consequent setback to the natural ecosystem. Vulnerability of the tourism sector to pandemics is due to obvious reasons; people avoid visiting places in the grip of pandemic and tourism destinations close their doors to arrivals from the virus-affected countries. There is a need for international mechanisms for regulating the factors that lead to origin of the pandemic and applying available means for containing it should that happen. For the tourism, effective management strategies are necessary to insulate this industry. This paper highlights the causes of the pandemic to effectively link its consequences for the tourism sector while also discussing the need to support its revival. An important measure emphasized in in this paper as a revival strategy is building resilience in the natural capital. This systems approach is necessary in dealing with the post-COVID-19 scenario and in better preparedness for any future health hazards.

Using mixed methods to understand sensitive wildlife poisoning behaviours in northern Cambodia

AbstractIn northern Cambodia, threatened wildlife, livestock and people are being poisoned by pesticides deposited in seasonal waterholes. Addressing this critical conservation threat requires understanding the drivers of poisoning behaviours and the social contexts in which they occur. This study across 10 communities in two protected areas aimed to provide a first assessment of this phenomenon. We used the theory of planned behaviour to measure socio-psychological determinants of behaviour and deepened this understanding using informant interviews and focus group discussions. Informants reported that so-called termite poisons, including powerful carbamates, are deliberately deposited at waterholes to catch wildlife for consumption. This method is perceived to be low effort and high efficacy, and perceptions of the health risks vary. Predominant users are young men and children, but it is unclear whether the practice is related to food insecurity. Threatened wildlife species reported as affected include the giant ibis Pseudibis gigantea and vulture species. Overall, social norms are strongly negative towards poisoning; 75% of survey respondents perceived negative norms because of impacts on human and livestock health, environmental quality, and risks of legal sanctions. This has led to interventions by local authorities in half of the studied villages. We suggest that future interventions should raise the salience of negative norms by providing a non-conflictual mechanism for community members to participate in monitoring and sanctioning, such as a reporting hotline. Regulatory interventions are also required to control the supply of restricted pesticides.

Insights into medicinal wildlife consumption and bear part use in Rakhine, Myanmar

Myanmar is an area of high diversity with prolific illegal wildlife trade, including trade in bear products for medicine. We focused on Rakhine State, Myanmar, which retains sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) populations despite poaching. To better understand why poaching continues to occur and whether poaching is motivated by regional demand for bear products for medicine, we performed a mixed methods study of structured questionnaires (n = 327) and semi-structured interviews (n = 66), in 52 villages. We specifically investigated the extent of traditional medicine use in Rakhine, as well as the consumption of bear bile and other medicinal wildlife products. We found that individuals largely do not use bear bile; however, individuals do use traditional medicine and consume a variety of other wildlife for medicine. Our study reveals that greater research is needed to understand the specific motivations behind the poaching of sun bears in Rakhine, though we suspect that external demand from China fuels trade in bear products within Rakhine. Our study also shows that there is a need for further studies that explore motivations for medicinal use of endangered and threatened wildlife in Rakhine, which can inform campaigns to reduce demand for these products.

Estimating hunting prevalence and reliance on wild meat in Cambodia's Eastern Plains

AbstractHunting is a primary driver of biodiversity loss across South-east Asia. Within Cambodia, the use of wire snares to capture wildlife is a severe threat in protected areas but there have been few studies of the behaviour of hunters from local communities. Here, we combine the unmatched count technique with direct questioning to estimate the prevalence of hunting behaviours and wildlife consumption amongst 705 households living within Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia. We assessed respondents’ knowledge of rules, and their perceptions of patrols responsible for enforcing rules. Estimates of hunting behaviour were variable: results from the unmatched count technique were inconclusive, and direct questioning revealed 9% of households hunted, and 20% set snares around farms to prevent wildlife eating crops. Hunting with domestic dogs was the method most commonly used to catch wildlife (87% of households owned dogs). Wild meat was consumed by 84% of households, and was most frequently bought or caught, but also gifted. We detected a high awareness of conservation rules, but low awareness of punishments and penalties, with wildlife depletion, rather than the risk of being caught by patrols, causing the greatest reduction in hunting. Our findings demonstrate the challenges associated with reliably estimating rule-breaking behaviour and highlight the need to incorporate careful triangulation into study design.

Emergence of zoonoses such as COVID-19 reveals the need for health sciences to embrace an explicit eco-social conceptual framework of health and disease

An accurate understanding of why zoonoses such as SARS-CoV-2 are emerging at an increased rate, is vital to prevent future pandemics from the approximately 700,000 viruses with zoonotic potential. Certain authors have argued that the consumption of wildlife, or human contact with bats was responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Others argue that a range of anthropogenic environmental degradations have played a vital role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonoses. In this opinion piece, I argue that these divergent viewpoints stem, in part, from different foundational conceptual frameworks – biomedical individualist and eco-social frameworks, respectively. Based on the fact that the eco-social framework provides a more complete account of the different types of causal factors underpinning the emergence of zoonoses, I propose that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an additional reason for the health sciences to ground its theory of health and disease in an eco-social conceptual framework.

COVID-19 and the Curse of Piecemeal Perspectives.

The world is in turmoil. A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has catapulted across the ever-evolving interface between humans and wild places relentlessly spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amongst humans and bringing immense suffering and death to the farthest reaches of our planet. What was immediately apparent was that the virus responsible for this outbreak originated in wild animals. A wildlife source does not come as a surprise as the majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic and two-thirds have their origin in wildlife. The commercial use of wildlife for consumption encompassing both legal and illegal trade is poorly regulated with porous boundaries between the two entities. This trade, particularly in live animals, creates super-interfaces along the food value chain co-mingling species from many different geographies and habitats while creating perfect conditions for the exchange and recombination of viruses. Since the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003, broad scientific consensus exists that long term, structural changes, and wildlife trade and market closures will be required to prevent future epidemics. The pragmatic, most cost-effective action governments can take with immediate effect is to ban the commercial trade of wild birds and mammals for consumption. Most importantly, this reduces the risk of future zoonotic transmission while also safeguarding resources for those Indigenous Peoples and local communities who rely on wild meat to meet their nutritional requirements.

Strategic advertising of online news articles as an intervention to influence wildlife product consumers

AbstractChanging human behavior is essential for biodiversity conservation, but robust approaches for large scale change are needed. Concepts like repeat message exposure and social reinforcement, as well as mechanisms like online news coverage and targeted advertisements, are currently used by private and public sectors, and could prove powerful for conservation. Thus, to explore their potential in influencing wildlife consumption, we used online advertisements through Facebook, Google, and Outbrain, to promote news articles discussing the use of a Critically Endangered antelope (the Saiga tatarica) as a traditional Chinese medicine in Singapore. Our message, tailored to middle‐aged Chinese Singaporean women, framed saiga horn products as being no longer socially endorsed. Through advert performance and in‐depth analyses of Facebook user engagement, we assessed audience response. Our message pervaded Singapore's online media (e.g., our adverts were shown almost five million times; and the story ran on seven news outlets), and resulted in widespread desirable audience responses (e.g., 63% of Facebook users' engagements included identifiably positive features like calls for public action to reduce saiga horn consumption, anger at having unknowingly used a Critically Endangered species, and self‐pledges to no longer use it; only 13% of engagements included identifiably negative features). This work shows that targeted dissemination of online news articles can have promising results, and may have wide applicability to conservation.

Bat conservation and zoonotic disease risk: a research agenda to prevent misguided persecution in the aftermath of COVID‐19

COVID‐19 has spread around the globe, with massive impacts on global human health, national economies and conservation activities. In the timely editorial about conservation in the maelstrom of COVID‐19, Evans et al. (2020) urged the conservation community to collaborate with other relevant sectors of society in the search for solutions to the challenges posed by the current pandemic, as well as future zoonotic outbreaks. Considering the association of COVID‐19 with bats (Zhou et al., 2020), bat conservationists will undoubtedly be key actors in this dialogue, and thus an action plan on how best to adjust bat conservation to this new reality, alongside a transdisciplinary research agenda, are clear priorities.