Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D06956
Notes:
Pages 26-33 in Francine L. Dolins (ed.), Attitudes to animals: views in animal welfare. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 262 pages.
Via Food Safety Network. 2 pages., Describes changes in the approaches of animal rights groups such as Farm Sanctuary and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as well as public perceptions about their efforts.
17 pages, Environmental education (EE) programs, when combined with human-wildlife interactions (HWI), can trigger emotions, an essential part of attitudes that influence pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). We used participant observation and a post-event evaluation survey to investigate emotional response to HWI among participants from marine educational programs at the University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium, Savannah, GA. We found that during HWI participants demonstrated positive (e.g., empathy) and negative emotions (e.g., frustration) with animals, including misconceptions and negative perceptions toward snakes and horseshoe crabs. In addition, outdoor exploration, contact with wildlife (direct or indirect), biofacts exhibitions and live animal presentations were the practices that most engaged participants in the programs, indicating that animals (e.g., turtles and crabs) can increase participants’ interest in educational activities. By incorporating wildlife in EE practices, educators can engage individuals in activities and stimulate their emotional attachment to animals, which can encourage changes in perceptions, leading to PEBs necessary for environmental conservation.
