Overexploitation

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Overexploitation

• A scrutiny of wildlife trade

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Conservation of tropical biodiversity

• Biodiversity the main challenges
• A rationale for biodiversity conservation
• Lessons from island biogeography
• The value of biodiversity
• Small and other fragile populations
• Overexploitation a scrutiny of wildlife trade

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Overexploitation

• Wildlife trade pets for the world
• Attitudes toward animals in the Neotropics when
  positive feelings backfire
• Fixing the damage
• Sustainable harvests
• Designing the ark In situ vs. Ex situ
  conservation

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Population declines whales
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Population declines whales
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Population declines whales
Atlantic grey whale (Eschrichtius gibbosus
gibbosus) went extinct in 1750.
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Whaling industry size of taken whale species
declined along with the population declines
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Minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata
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Overexploitation case study neotropical macaws
Ara macao
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Overexploitation case study neotropical macaws
9 out of 16 macaw species threatened and 1
(nearly) extinct (Cyanopsitta spixii)
Demand for pet market
Nest raiders - destruction of breeding sites
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Cyanopsitta spixii
Spix macaw Original distribution Brasil Extinct
in the wild
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Case study neotropical macaws

• Charles Munn, WCS, since 1984 in Peru, 12 macaw
  species

Income for locals (guides, Brasil nuts, gold)
Export ban - CITES-
Expansion of protected area
Artificial nests and 2nd-chick release
Clay lick ecotourism
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Attitudes toward animals in the Neotropics when
positive feelings backfire
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Attitudes toward animals in the Neotropics when
positive feelings backfire

• The problem wild animals as victims of pet
  keepers
• Determinants of human behavior
• Studying attitudes and knowledge about animals
• Costa Rica a Neotropical case study
• Perspectives for a misguided affection, empathy
  and compassion.

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URBAN HUMANS - NATURE
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The national wildlife survey in Costa Rica
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Animals in Costa Rican households

• Some animal 71 (92 domestic, 33 wild)
• Domestic animal 66
• Wild animal 23.5 (mostly birds, turtles
  fishes)
• Pet 68
• Pet bird 23
• Aquarium with fishes and/or turtles 6

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COMPARATIVE INCIDENCE OF SOME PETS

• Costa Rica this survey Nicaragua (Zegarra
  Drews in prep.)
• Australia www.petnet.com.au/statistics.html,
  17.3.2000
• U.S.A. Good Housekeeping Consumer Panel Report
  (1962), Wilbur (1976), AVMA (1997), APPMA (2000)
  Japan (Kellert 1993)

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Proportion of households currently with wildlife

• COSTA RICA 23.5
• n1021 households

NICARAGUA 22.3 n1012 households
Drews, C. 2001. Wild animals and other pets kept
in Costa Rican households incidence, species and
numbers. Society Animals 9(2) 107-126.
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The concerns

• At least 87 of wild animals are kept illegally.
• Wild animals are bad pets.
• Humanitarian concerns (misconception of animal
  needs).
• Species conservation concerns (extraction
  levels).
• Increasing tendency over time?

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Humanitarian and conservation concerns

• 77 kept in enclosure smaller than a large TV
  set.
• 75 kept/housed singly.
• At least 27,000 to 35,000 parrots taken yearly
  from the wild to
• satisfy the pet market.
• About 151,288 parrots
• currently kept as pets in
• Costa Rica.

In BRASIL 6,5 million parrots in cages
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Wildlife as pet during childhood
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Attitudes toward animals in the Neotropics when
positive feelings backfire

• The problem wild animals as inadequate pets
• Determinants of human behavior
• Studying attitudes and knowledge about animals
• Costa Rica a Neotropical case study
• Perspectives for a misguided affection, empathy
  and compassion.

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Determinants of human behavior
Attitudes
Culture / History
Practices / Behavior / Decisions
Knowledge
Evolutionary heritage
Perceptions
Logistic legal constraints
other ...?
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Determinants of human behavior
Attitudes
Culture / History
Practices / Behavior / Decisions
Knowledge
Evolutionary heritage
Perceptions
Logistic legal constraints
other ...?
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Studying attitudes toward animals

• Prof. Stephen Kellerts attitude typology
• Survey techniques
• Battery of questions
• Groupings are backed up statistically
• Interpretation generates labels
• Attitudes scores can be compared
• Linking attitudes to behavior and values

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Nationwide studies of attitudes toward animals

• U.S.A. (Kellert)
• Germany (Schulz)
• Japan (Kellert et al.)
• Botswana (Mordi)
• Costa Rica (-this study-)

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Attitudes toward animals in Costa Rica

• The inquisitive attitude reflects interest in
  learning about the biology of animals and their
  habitats.
• The humanistic attitude is about feelings of
  affection toward animals.
• The aesthetic/negativistic attitude emphasizes
  the role of aesthetic appearance in the
  preferences for certain animals and acknowledges
  feelings of aversion, dislike or fear of some
  animals.

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Attitudes toward animals in Costa Rica

• The utilitarian / dominionistic attitude relates
  to the extractive use of and control over
  animals.
• The moralistic attitude is concerned with the
  ethical treatment of animals and nature.
• 59.5 disagreed with keeping wild animals as
  pets.
• Not an exhaustive listing of Costa Rican
  attitudes toward wildlife.

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COSTA RICAN ATTITUDES
Drews, C. 2002. Attitudes, knowledge and wild
animals as pets in Costa Rica. Anthrozoös. 15(2)
119-138.
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Public opinion on hunting
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ATTITUDE OF PET OWNERS
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BIOPHILIA the innately
emotional affiliation of human beings to other
living organisms.Edward O. Wilson (1984, 1993)
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Reasons for keeping pets

• Love
• Ethical commitment
• Moral obligation
• Compassion
• Admiration
• Family tradition

• Company
• Security
• Therapy
• Entertainment
• Aesthetic appeal
• Educational value to children
• ... others ...

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Reasons for keeping wild pets

• Love
• Ethical commitment
• Moral obligation
• 2. Compassion
• Admiration
• 3. Family tradition

• Company
• Security
• Therapy
• Entertainment
• 1. Aesthetic appeal
• 3. Educational value to children

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Reasons for obtaining a wild animal

• Aesthetic appeal (I liked the animal) 69
• Compassion (I felt sorry for the animal)12
• Family tradition 7.5
• Good for the children 7.5

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Keeping wild animals at home favors in the
children an attitude of respect and love for
nature.
The setting is entirely anthropomorphic and
detaches the animal from its natural requirements
and ecological role.
The pet legitimizes a capricious taking and using
of elements of nature that disregards the
implications for the individuals, species and
ecosystems.
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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANIMALS

• Spiders have ten legs.
• Most insects have backbones.
• A seahorse is a kind of fish.
• Snakes have a layer of slime to move more easily.
• All adult birds have feathers.

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANIMALS
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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANIMALS
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How do you think that the animals living in your
home feel?
VERY PLEASED
VERY SAD
SUFFERING MUCH
VERY HAPPY
VERY LONELY
WITH MUCH COMPANY
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Human traits underlying the keeping of wild
animals

• Strong affection for the animals.
• Good knowledge of biology.
• Lack of linkage between biological needs and
  suffering under conditions of captivity.
• Misguided belief that wild pets foster respect
  and love for nature in children.

Biophilia a wild animal trap?
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Attitudes vs. Practices

• Right attitudes do not necessarily lead to right
  practices.
• Good basic biological knowledge is not sufficient
  either.
• An emotional sympathy and misguided empathy for
  animals compromise their well-being.

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Attitudes toward animals in the Neotropics when
positive feelings backfire

• The problem wild animals as inadequate pets
• Determinants of human behavior
• Studying attitudes and knowledge about animals
• Costa Rica a Neotropical case study
• Perspectives for a misguided affection, empathy
  and compassion.

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How do we redirect this biophilia to more
wildlife friendly practices?
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Do not change attitudes

• Use the pronounced humanistic, inquisitive and
  moralistic attitudes as working platform.

Increase awareness about animals needs. Teach
natural history and values.
Recognition of ethically problematic situations.
Trigger moralistic response.
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Level of agreement with the statementIn my
opinion it is o.k. that people keep wildlife at
home
Chi-square67.0, df15, p 48
Perceptions of bats
Drews C. 2002. Convivencia con murciélagos en
Costa Rica. Ambientico 103 12-13.
http//www.ambientico.una.ac.cr/drewsmurc.htm
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Perceptions Education
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URBAN HUMANS - NATURE
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Desire to have an emotionally and aesthetically
gratifying pet
Adequate care of a domestic, rather than wild
species
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Sustainable harvest schemes
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Sustainable harvest of parrot chicks
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Increasing chick population
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Caiman crocodilus a critical look at captive
breeding for commercial purposes
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Parks or arks Ex situ vs. In situ conservation
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Parks or arks Ex situ vs. In situ conservation

• With few exceptions, the population growth rate
  of threatened mammals is higher in situ than ex
  situ.

From Balmford et al. 1995, 1996
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• Cost of ex situ conservation increases with
  increasing body size.

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Costs body size
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• Mammals represent 2/3 of all breeding programs
  for threatened species, but account for only 14
  of all threatened species.

• Most mammals in ex situ programs are large.

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Habitat loss vs. Other threats (overexploitation,
introduced species or small scale habitat
deterioration)

• The focus of ex situ programs should be cases of
  irreversible habitat loss but it is not.

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Tackling ex situ challenges
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Designing the ark conclusions

• Cost effectiveness of ex situ conservation is
  higher for small than large sized species.
• Cases of irreversible habitat loss should have
  priority in ex situ programs over other threats.
• Current bias toward large species in ex situ
  programs is the product of human sensory and
  affection filters.
• Does impact on awareness environmental
  education compensate for the cost ineffectiveness
  in reproductive terms?

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