Public attitudes towards invasive animals and their impacts Research Completed

Title

Public attitudes towards invasive animals and their impacts

Lead Author

Fitzgerald, G., Fitzgerald, N. & Davidson, C.

Organisation(s)

Fitzgerald Applied Sociology

Publication Year

2007

Publisher

Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre

Contacts

Abstract

This project in the Detection and Prevention Program of the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (IACRC) identifies and reviews the research literature on public attitudes towards, and understanding of, invasive animals and their impacts. The need for a review was identified by participants in the IACRC’s socio-economic ‘Costing the Impacts’ workshop, held in November 2005 (Norris et al 2006). The review aims to maximise the use of existing knowledge, to identify knowledge gaps, to identify suitable social research approaches, and to help focus research efforts across the work of the IACRC.

Animals covered in the Australasian literature include: foxes, wild dogs, rodents, cane toads, rabbits, horses, pigs, deer, goats, kangaroos, possums, stoats, bandicoots and flying foxes. The review observed that little primary research has been done on attitudes and perceptions of invasive animals in Australia. Studies to date have generally been reactive and not well informed by previous work. The geographical coverage is patchy, and no national Australian picture for pest animals is available. The species coverage is variable, as is the quality of the work, with almost no coverage of perceived or experienced social impacts.

This review was completed for the Detection and Prevention Program’s project 12.D.5 Social literature review.

Keywords:

Pest, Animals, Outdoors, Impact, Environment, Conservation, Australia

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1221

Added

July 13, 2012