Study: Americans’ beliefs about ‘wildlife management’ are changing

The research found large declines over time for the group of people defined as traditionalists, or those who believe animals should be used for purposes that benefit humans, like hunting and medical research.

MARY GUIDEN: ‘A new 50-state study on America’s Wildlife Values—the largest and first of its kind—led by researchers at Colorado State University and The Ohio State University describes individuals’ values toward wildlife across states. Researchers found large declines over time in several states for the group of people defined as traditionalists, or those who believe animals should be used for purposes that benefit humans, like hunting and medical research.

Mutualists, on the other hand, believe that animals deserve the same rights as humans. They view animals as companions and part of their social networks, and project human traits onto animals. “What’s surprising is that the decline in traditionalists in some states is happening at a really rapid pace,” said Michael Manfredo, one of the study’s lead investigators and head of the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at CSU…

The 2018 survey on public values included questions on high-profile predator conflict issues, Including lethal removal of coyotes, bears and wolves in different scenarios… From 2004 to 2018, researchers found that, overall, Western states had a 5.7 percent decrease in traditionalists and a 4.7 percent increase in mutualists… Across the U.S., traditionalists make up 28 percent of the population, and mutualists make up 35 percent of the population’. SOURCE…

RELATED VIDEO: