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Is Popularity a Double-Edged Sword? Children Want to Protect but Also Harvest Tortoises

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Title: Is Popularity a Double-Edged Sword? Children Want to Protect but Also Harvest Tortoises
Language: English
Authors: Ballouard, J.-M, Conord, M., Johany, A., Jardé, N., Caron, S., Deleuze, S., Bonnet, X.
Source: Journal of Environmental Education. 2020 51(5):347-360.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2020
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Students, Wildlife, Animals, Conservation Education, Ecology, Student Attitudes, Knowledge Level
Geographic Terms: France
DOI: 10.1080/00958964.2019.1693329
ISSN: 0095-8964
Abstract: The likeability of organisms is an effective tool for conservation education. However, stimulating the cute appeal of animals can also bolster the desire to possess them, and thus can encourage the trade in animals as pets. We assessed the perception of primary French schoolchildren (7-11 years old) for the Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni), a popular species endangered by illegal harvesting. Likeability for tortoises is associated with a strong willingness to protect them. Many children, however, expressed controversial attitudes toward them, such as the desire to possess a tortoise as a pet and to remove it from its natural habitat. Likeability was a significant determinant of these attitudes, and must thus be used with caution. Implementing these findings in conservation education programs should, therefore, be considered.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2020
Accession Number: EJ1274780
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:The likeability of organisms is an effective tool for conservation education. However, stimulating the cute appeal of animals can also bolster the desire to possess them, and thus can encourage the trade in animals as pets. We assessed the perception of primary French schoolchildren (7-11 years old) for the Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni), a popular species endangered by illegal harvesting. Likeability for tortoises is associated with a strong willingness to protect them. Many children, however, expressed controversial attitudes toward them, such as the desire to possess a tortoise as a pet and to remove it from its natural habitat. Likeability was a significant determinant of these attitudes, and must thus be used with caution. Implementing these findings in conservation education programs should, therefore, be considered.
ISSN:0095-8964
DOI:10.1080/00958964.2019.1693329