Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behavior Toward Wildlife ...

Journal o f Social Issues, Vol 49, No. I, 1993, pp. 53-69

Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behavior Toward Wildlife Among the Industrial Superpowers: United States, Japan, and Germany Stephen R . K ellert Yale University

This paper examines attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward wildlife in the United States, Japan, and Germany. These countries collectively account fo r some 40% o f the world’s gross national product, and they have a major impact on the global environment. A similar conceptual and methodological approach was used to study national samples in each country over a roughly ten-year period. The primary conceptual approach was a typology o f basic attitudes toward animals. The main methodological procedure involved closed-ended sur veys o f national samples in each country. Respondents in each country had a distinctive pattern o f basic attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward wildlife and its conservation. These differences are described and interpreted in terms o f the biogeographical, cultural, and historical characteristics o f each country. T he w orldw ide collapse o f Soviet-style com m unism has resulted in the advanced capitalist, industrial dem ocracies assum ing an expanded role in the p lanet’s social, econom ic, and political order. This influence extends to the global environm ent, w here the U nited States, Japan, and G erm any pro foundly affect the planet’s diverse ecosystem s as a consequence o f massive natural resource exploitation and as m odels o f social and econom ic developm ent. R ecent statistics indicate that these three countries account for nearly $8 trillion in annual gross national product (GN P), or roughly 40% o f the w orld’s total, although they represent ju st 8% o f the w orld’s population (Central Intelligence Agency, 1990). T hese countries also account for 34% o f the w o rld ’s trade in resources, or som e $980 billion (Central Intelligence Agency, 1990). This degree C o rresp o n d en ce reg ard in g th is article sh o u ld be a d d ressed to Dr. S tephen K ellert, School o f Forestry and E n v iro n m en tal S tu d ies, Yale U niversity, 205 P rospect S treet, N ew H aven, C T 06511. 53 0 0 2 2 -4537/93/0300-0053S 07 00/1 © 1993 T he S ociety for Ihc Psychological Study o f Social Issues

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o f econom ic, political, and environm ental influence suggests the need for an increased understanding o f how each country views the natural world and its conservation. This article exam ines one particularly sensitive barom eter o f en vironm ental concern— attitudes, know ledge, and behavior tow ard w ildlife. M ethods A sim ilar conceptual and m ethodological fram ew ork was used to study hum an/anim al relations in the U nited States, Japan, and G erm any during a roughly ten-year period (K ellert, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1991; Kellert & Berry, 1981; Schulz, 1985). The prim ary conceptual approach relied on a typology o f basic attitudes tow ard anim als viewed as a universal expression o f fundam ental feel ings and beliefs tow ard anim als and the natural w orld. O ne-sentence definitions o f the basic attitudes are provided in Table 1, and m ore thorough descriptions can be found elsew here (K ellert, 1980). T he principal m ethodological tool for assessing peo p le’s attitudes, know l edge, and behavior tow ard anim als w as a general population survey. A ttitude scales w ere constructed based on cluster and factor analyses that identified 4 - 9 questions as m easures o f the underlying attitude type, although an effective scale for assessing the aesthetic attitude was not successfully developed. R eliability analysis results indicated the scales consisted o f highly interrelated question items w ith C ronbach’s alpha values ranging from .78 to .92. C orrelational find ings indicated the relative independence o f the attitude scales. This m eth odological procedure yielded com parable scales in all three countries, except that an independent scientistic scale did not em erge in the Japanese study.

T a b le 1. B a sic Attitudes Tow ards A nim als S cale

D efin itio n

Naturalistic E co lo g istic

Prim ary focu s on an interest and affection for w ildlife and the outdoors. Prim ary concern for the environm ent as a system , for interrelationships between w ildlife sp ecies and natural habitats. Prim ary interest and strong affection fo r individual anim als such as pets or large wild anim als with strong anthropom orphic association s. Primary concern for the right and wrong treatment o f an im als, with strong opposition to presum ed overexploitation an d /or cruelty tow ards anim als. Prim ary interest in the physical attributes and biological functioning o f anim als Prim ary interest in the physical attractiveness and sym bolic appeal o f anim als. Prim ary interest in the practical value o f an im als, or in the subordination o f anim als for the practical benefit o f people. Prim ary interest in the m astery and control o f anim als.

H um anistic M oralistic Scien tistic A esthetic U tilitarian D om inionistic N egativ istic

Prim ary orientation on avoidance o f anim als due to indifference, d islik e, or fear.

Industrial Superpowers

55

Survey questions also covered know ledge o f anim als. Various tru e -fa lse know ledge questions w ere com bined to construct a “ know ledge o f anim als” scale. O ther survey questions assessed attitudes tow ard hunting, the conservation o f endangered species, anim al dam age control, and w ildlife habitat protection. These attitude questions w ere largely asked in the A m erican and Japanese sur veys, and thus are only covered briefly in this paper. Finally, a num ber o f activity questions were included, and lim ited results are presented on participation in hunting, birdw atching, visits to zoological parks, pet ow nership, conservation organization m em bership, and w ildlife-related television viewing. D espite the use o f sim ilar research procedures, im portant m ethodological differences did occur in the three studies. T he m ost im portant variation was an occasional change in question w ording due to cultural and linguistic factors. O ther differences included variations in sam ple selection procedures, m ethods o f data collection, and the year o f study. T he A m erican survey involved personal interviews with 3107 adults (18 years and older) residing in the 48 contiguous states and A laska (Kellert, 1979; K ellert & Berry, 1981). A n area cluster based, random probability sam pling procedure was used, with an initial contact and three callbacks required before a designated respondent was dropped. A com parison o f the sam ple with national census data indicated that the form er was a relatively good representation o f the A m erican public. T he survey included 183 questions and required an average of 45 m inutes to com plete. T he Japanese study involved personal interview s with 450 random ly se lected individuals in Tokyo and three w idely distributed rural locations, as well as 50 focused interview s w ith a sam ple o f experts on nature and w ildlife in Japanese culture (Kellert, 1991). The relatively sm all general public sam ple size necessitated a stratified random sam ple selection procedure involving age, sex, and education quotas w ithin each m ajor sam pling area. An initial contact and three callbacks w ere required before the designated respondent was replaced. Census statistics suggested that the sam ple w as representative o f the Japanese adult population. T he Japanese survey averaged 43 m inutes and included 198 closed-ended questions. The focused interview s w ere conducted with a sam ple of persons recom m ended (from am ong 300 identified by various scholars and con servationists) as possessing extensive know ledge o f Japanese attitudes tow ard nature and w ildlife. The focused interview s largely included open-ended ques tions covering Japanese current and historic appreciation and concern for nature, attitudes tow ard the conservation o f w ildlife and biological diversity, views o f econom ic developm ent and conservation, and shifts in attitudes tow ard nature, am ong others. Dr. W olfgang Schulz o f the U niversity o f M unich was the principal investi gator o f the G erm an study (Schulz, 1985, 1986). T he G erm an survey w as, for the m ost part, a translation o f the one used in the United States, although it was

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altered som ew hat to conform w ith G erm an circum stances and cultural condi tions. A total o f 1484 personal interview s w ere conducted with individuals from all regions o f w hat w as form erly West Germany. The principal m ethod for identifying potential respondents utilized adult education program s and resulted in a less than random sam ple o f the West G erm an public. W hen com pared with national census data, the West G erm an sam ple included a slightly greater propor tion o f fem ales, younger respondents, and m ore highly educated persons, al though no differences occurred in geographic area o f residence. T he overall sim ilarity o f m ethods and concepts used in these studies pro vided a reasonable basis for com parisons am ong the three countries. Still, m eth odological differences w arrant caution in generalizing from the findings, and further research will be required before definitive conclusions can be draw n. Additionally, m ethodological variations lim it the usefulness o f statistical tests o f significance w hen com paring the results betw een countries.

Biogeographical and Cultural Background Before exam ining the results, som e biogeographical and cultural back ground will be offered for each o f the three nations. T hese descriptions will be brief, highlighting only features relevant to the findings presented. T he United States is a relatively large country encom passing a w ide degree o f biological diversity w ithin a largely tem perate clim ate. The country’s hum an population o f som e 250 m illion people represents approxim ately 25 per sons/km 2, far less than the 2 4 8 /k m 2 in G erm any or 3 1 1 /k m 2 in Japan (Central Intelligence Agency, 1990). T he G N P o f the United States is currently m ore than $5 trillion. R ecent large-scale hum an colonization and the nation’s geography have contributed to a diverse and abundant animal fauna com pared w ith either Japan or Germany. Early A m erica’s relative w ildlife abundance, as well as prevailing attitudes and utilitarian needs am ong its European settlers, resulted in a tradition o f open access to w ildlife, particularly for com m ercial and sport hunting purposes (D un lap, 1988; M atthiessen, 1989). Excessive w ildlife exploitation and large am ounts o f public land led to the developm ent o f an elaborate system o f legal protection and regulatory control o f w ildlife (B ean, 1983; Lund, 1980). A very active and influential nongovernm ental sector also em erged as a prom inent force in w ildlife conservation and policy (Tober, 1989). The hum an population o f Japan is approxim ately 125 m illion people, or 3 1 1/km 2. In relation to existing arable land, the Japanese population is 2 2 5 6 /k m 2 com pared to 8 2 0 /k m 2 in G erm any and 103/km 2 in the United States (M arsh, 1987). T hree quarters o f the Japanese population resides in urban areas; relatively few people live in the approxim ately tw o thirds o f the country covered by m ountains. As a consequence, som e 70% o f Japan has less than 50 p eo p le/k m 2


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(Yano, 1985). T he Japanese G N P, according to 1990 statistics, is nearly $2 trillion (Central Intelligence Agency, 1990). D espite the country’s industrial success, Japan still has som e 4 .5 m illion people engaged in agriculture, com pared to 3.3 m illion in the U nited States with a population roughly tw ice the size (Central Intelligence Agency, 1990). A lthough Japan has a large hum an population within a small geographic area, the country possesses a fairly rich and diverse biota (Japanese Environm ent Agency, 1982). For exam ple, 122 m am m alian species are know n in Japan com pared to 67 in G reat Britain and Ireland (an area sim ilar in size). O ver 600 bird species have been recorded in Japan, again roughly double the num ber in G reat Britain and Ireland. T he num ber o f insect species is 4 - 5 tim es the num ber found in G reat Britain. This high degree o f biodiversity is largely due to Japan’s biogeographical variation and oceanic character. T hree characteristics are es pecially im portant: the nation’s highly m ountainous terrain, broad latitudinal variation (from the boreal regions o f H okkaido at 4 5 .5N to the neotropics o f O kinaw a at 24N), and the large num ber o f islands com prising the Japanese archipelago (over 3900 islands with a cum ulative coastline o f nearly 33,000 km). It has been suggested that Japanese culture has an especially strong appre ciation and affection for nature (H iguchi, 1979; M inam i, 1970; M urota, 1986; Saito, 1983; T sutsui, 1981; W atanabe, 1974). O ften-cited expressions o f this attitude include the religion o f shintoism ; various celebrations o f the seasons; and the traditions o f flow er arranging, plant cultivation (e .g ., bonsai), the tea cere mony, H aiku and other poetry form s, and rock gardening. D espite this tradition o f presum ed affection and respect for nature, current Japanese environm ental practices reveal a pattern o f w idespread w ildlife abuse and habitat destruction (G raphard, 1985; Saiki, 1988; U pham , 1979). For exam ple, Japan has been prom inently identified for its dam aging w haling practices, destructive high seas drift net use, and excessive exploitation o f tropical forests (K am ei, 1983; Linden, 1989; L uom a, 1989; M oreby, 1982; Sneider, 1989; Stew art-Sm ith, 1987). West G erm any has a hum an population o f over 70 m illion, or roughly 250 p ersons/km 2. It encom passes an area approxim ately the size o f O regon with a population 30 tim es larger. M ost o f G erm any’s land mass has been under inten sive m anagem ent for many centuries, and virtually no undisturbed w ilderness rem ains (Plochm an, 1981). Additionally, because o f its geographic location and glacial history, the G erm an landscape is relatively sim ple in com parison to the United States and Japan. As a consequence, G erm any has com paratively less biological diversity (Plochm an, 1968). G erm ans have further sim plified their terrestrial landscape through the m as sive conversion o f natural forests to coniferous m onocultures (Leopold, 1933). W ildlife m anagem ent has been sim ilarly sim plified w ith a m ajor em phasis on the “ production” o f red deer and other preferred gam e species (W olfe, 1970). A strong tradition o f forest appreciation, hunting, and w ildlife interest have re

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suited, how ever, in nearly one quarter o f the country rem aining forested since the late m iddle ages (B undesm inisterium , 1968). As N elsen (1987, p. 34) noted, the m aintenance o f forest land and the G erm an hunting tradition have been encour aged by a close cultural “ identification with w ildlife, especially gam e anim als, and the forest is deeply rooted in G erm an tradition and m y th .” In G erm any, hunting is an elitist and aristocratic sport largely controlled by the wealthy. O nly 0.4% o f the G erm an public holds a hunting license, com pared with m ore than 8% in the U nited States (U nited States Fish and W ildlife Service, 1990; W olfe, 1970). H unters in G erm any are regulated by a strict licensing and exam ination system requiring considerable know ledge o f w ildlife biology, hunt ing law and custom s, nature protection, and sportsm anship. This hunting tradi tion contrasts sharply with the A m erican system o f “ the right to hunt [as] a basic right o f . . . citizenship” (Leopold, 1933, p. 17).

Results A ttitudes Toward A nim als A ttitude scale scores from the United States, Japan, and G erm any are given in Fig. 1. Statistically significant results (at the .05 confidence level using analysis o f variance) occurred am ong all three countries on the m oralistic and dom inionistic scales, w hile nonsignificant differences were found on the hum an istic scale. Significant differences occurred w hen com paring the United States and Japan with G erm any on the utilitarian and negativistic attitude scales, al though nonsignificant results w ere found betw een Japan and the United States on these scales. G erm any and the United States had roughly com parable ecologistic scale scores, although both countries had significantly higher scores than found in Japan. Naturalistic differences w ere nonsignificant when com paring Japan and the U nited States, although both had significantly low er scores than found am ong G erm an respondents. T hus, citizens from all three countries show ed strong em otional attachm ents to individual anim als, as suggested by the relatively frequent occurrence o f the hum anistic attitude w ithin each country. R espondents in the United States, Japan, and G erm any expressed strong, positive attitudes tow ard large and higher verte brates, especially m am m alian and bird species generally regarded as aesthet ically appealing, culturally im portant, and historically familiar. C om pared with G erm an respondents, A m erican and Japanese respondents w ere more oriented to dom estic than wild anim als, as suggested by relatively low naturalistic and high hum anistic scale scores. Japanese respondents, in m arked contrast to G erm an and to a lesser degree A m erican respondents, also revealed strong dom inionistic and negativistic at titudes tow ard anim als. O ther data further suggested the im portance o f aesthetic


59

H

U-&A. Japan

|

| Germany

Fig. 1. M ean standardized scale scores for respondents from the United States (N (N = 450), and G erm any (N = 1484) on basic attitudes toward wildlife.

3107), Japan

CO

©

2 N

CQ T3

NEG

UTIL

DOM

MOR

HUM

ECO

NAT

SCI

factors in Japanese perspectives o f nature. Japanese appreciation for anim als was generally restricted to species possessing unusual aesthetic and cultural appeal in certain highly controlled circum stances (as will be described shortly). Am ericans and G erm ans, in contrast, tended to evince a broad appreciation o f w ildlife in a variety o f natural settings and habitats. Additional insight regarding Japanese attitudes tow ard anim als was pro vided by the 50 in-depth interview s conducted with experts on nature and w ild life. O ne them e repeatedly expressed in these interview s was an enjoym ent of nature and anim als in highly structured situations. The objective, as one respon dent described it, was to capture the presum ed “ essence” o f a natural object, often by adhering to strict rules o f “ seeing and experiencing” intended to express a centrally valued aspect o f nature. Rarely did this adm iration go beyond a single species or isolated landscape to an appreciation o f nature in general. E nviron m ental features falling outside the valued aesthetic and sym bolic boundaries tended to be ignored, considered irrelevant, or judged unappealing. This restricted Japanese appreciation o f anim als and nature was described as largely em otional and aesthetic with little analytical or biological consideration. O ne respondent referred to it as a “ love o f sem i-nature,” som ew hat dom esticated and tam ed— a desire to “ use the m aterials o f sem i-nature to express hum an feelings.” A nother respondent described this attitude as reflecting a Japanese preference for an artificial, highly abstract, and sym bolic rather than realistic

60

Kellert

experience o f anim als and nature; a m otivation to “ to u ch ” nature, but from a controlled and safe distance. In a m etaphoric sense, one respondent described this perspective as a Japanese w illingness “to go to the edge o f the forest, to view nature from across the river, to see natural beauty from a m ountain top, but rarely to enter into or im m erse oneself in w ildness or the ecological understanding o f natural settings.” A nother respondent described a Japanese “ lo v e” not so much o f nature and anim als but o f the artistic and sym bolic rendering o f nature. This tendency, according to another respondent, largely reflected a desire to isolate favored aspects o f the natural w orld, and then “ freeze and put walls around it.” G erm an and A m erican results indicated a m ore generalized appreciation and protectionist attitude tow ard anim als and the natural environm ent. G erm an re spondents expressed very strong affection, concern, and w hat might even be called “ rom antic” feelings tow ard anim als and nature. T he G erm an sam ple not only had high hum anistic and naturalistic attitude scores (relative to other scales), but also obtained very low scores on the utilitarian and dom inionistic scales (particularly in com parison to the Japanese on the latter scale). The G erm an public expressed an unusual w illingness to sacrifice practical hum an benefits for the sake o f nature and anim als. T his im pression o f a highly rom antic and protectionist attitude tow ard ani mals and nature am ong the G erm an public was further suggested by excep tionally high m oralistic (and som ew hat elevated ecologistic) scale scores. The Japanese, in contrast, obtained their low est scores on these two scales. M ore over, the highly protectionist and rom antic view o f G erm an respondents was additionally indicated by m oralistic scores tw ice as high as scores on any other scale. The G erm an public consistently expressed considerable opposition to the exploitation o f anim als and a strong concern for their w elfare. They frequently indicated a w illingness to extend rights to anim als even when such rights entailed a substantial loss o f benefits to hum ans. A m erican respondents were generally less consistent than either the G erm an or Japanese respondents. A lthough the A m erican public did reveal strong affec tion and protectionist concern for anim als, reflected in high hum anistic and moralistic scale scores, they also expressed considerable indifference and very pragm atic perspectives, as suggested by com paratively high negativistic and utilitarian scores. T his som ew hat contradictory pattern m ay reflect the hetero geneity and diversity o f A m erican society (suggesting that a better understanding o f prevailing attitudes m ight be obtained by exam ining variations am ong key dem ographic groups). K now ledge A bo u t A nim als On the know ledge o f anim als scale, the Japanese sam ple obtained a signifi cantly low er m ean score (M = 48) than the A m erican sam ple (M = 52) and


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Table 2. Selected Knowledge Questions (Percent of Respondents Answering Correctly) Country Item M ost insects have backbones. Snakes have a layer o f “ slim e” to move more easily. * All adult birds have feathers. Spiders have 10 legs. *A seahorse is a kind o f fish. ♦Salm on breed in fresh water, but spend most of their life in salt water. All o f the following are mammals: Japan: impala, tanuki, iguana, killer whale U .S.: im pala, muskrat, iguana, killer whale.

Japan

United States

45 34 49 37 40 76

57 52 63 50 71 66

20 40

Note: Starred items are true.

G erm an sam ple (M = 56). W hen A m erican and Japanese responses w ere com pared on a num ber o f specific know ledge questions (the G erm an study was not com parable), A m erican respondents w ere generally found to be m ore know l edgeable about the basic biological characteristics o f anim als, w hereas Japanese respondents w ere som ew hat m ore know ledgeable about anim als possessing prac tical value to hum ans (see Table 2). As show n in Fig. 2, A m ericans were also more likely than Japanese respon dents to (correctly) nam e habitat destruction as the m ost im portant reason for species endangerm ent, w hile the Japanese w ere m ore inclined to (erroneously) regard contem porary hunting as a m ajor cause o f species extinction. Citizens o f both countries perceived chem ical and industrial pollution as a far m ore impor tant factor in species endangerm ent than is actually the case, w hile ignoring the very dam aging im pact o f introduced and exotic species. D em ographic C om parisons A dditional understanding o f attitude and know ledge differences in the three countries was obtained by com paring scale scores am ong several dem ographic groups. D ue to space lim itations, the present com parison will only consider age and educational variations. Young adults in each country were significantly m ore likely to express interest, affection, and concern for anim als than were other age groups, es pecially the elderly. A m ajor exception w as the absence o f significant m oralistic and ecologistic differences am ong Japanese age groups. Eighteen to 35-year-old A m erican and G erm an respondents expressed a great deal o f concern for the ethical treatm ent and ecological protection o f w ildlife, in m arked contrast to the

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50 40

■

U.S.A.

13 Japan

30

% 20 10

0

Chemical and industrial pollution

Over hunting/ happing

Loss of Elimination wildlands of to natural predators resource industries e.g. logging, mining, oil

Loss of habitat due to human over population

Loss of Introduction habitat of non-native due to species agnculture

Fig. 2. Japanese and Am erican perceptions o f the primary reason for species endangerm ent during the past 25 years.

views o f younger adults in Japan (w ho did not differ m uch from older Japanese respondents). A sim ilar pattern occurred w hen com paring educational groups in the three countries. In the U nited States and Germ any, college-educated respondents ex pressed far greater appreciation, interest, and concern for anim als and nature than did other educational groups, particularly w hen com pared with respondents with only a grade-school education. In Japan, although college-educated respon dents revealed som ew hat m ore interest and appreciation for anim als, they ex pressed no greater ethical o r ecological concern than did other educational groups (quite unlike the pattern encountered in the U nited States and G erm any). Behaviors a nd Positions on C ontroversial Issues A dditional inform ation w as collected on views tow ard and participation in a num ber o f anim al-related activities. G erm an data is unavailable for som e o f these issues and behaviors, so several o f these com parisons w ill focus m ainly on Japanese and A m erican respondents. A m ericans generally expressed m ore favorable views o f hunting and a great er likelihood o f participating in the activity than did either Japanese or G erm an


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GERM ANY: 85% Opposed to Hunting Fig. 3. Japanese, A m erican, and Germ an attitudes toward hunting.

respondents. Som e 14% o f the A m erican sam ple reported hunting during the previous tw o years, com pared w ith 1% o f Japanese respondents and 4% o f G erm an respondents. Q uestions regarding attitudes tow ard hunting w ere asked differently in the G erm an than A m erican and Japanese surveys. D espite this difference, as Fig. 3 reveals, m ost Japanese and G erm an respondents expressed considerable opposition to hunting, in contrast to a m ajority o f A m ericans who supported hunting if the m eat w as utilized. A m ajority o f A m ericans objected to the activity, how ever, if hunting was justified only on the basis o f its sporting or trophy values. Japanese opposition to hunting m ay be related to the Buddhist tradition o f not killing or eating terrestrial meat. Japanese society, how ever, has a long history o f m arine anim al consum ption, and even today, Japan is the w orld’s largest per capita consum er o f sea products (Japanese E nvironm ent Agency, 1982). C onsistent w ith this pattern o f consum ption, only 40% o f Japanese re spondents were w illing to pay a higher price for tuna fish if few er porpoises w ould be killed in fisherm en’s nets, com pared w ith 70% o f A m erican respon dents. Additionally, 46% o f the Japanese public reported purchasing w hale m eat during a preceding five-year period, and 24% reported buying it on m ore than four occasions. C om pared w ith A m ericans, Japanese respondents reported less frequent recreational contact w ith anim als. O nly 8% o f Japanese respondents reported

Plant M achinery

(D am )

Supply

U se (D am )

Crops (Irrigation)

F ig . 4 . Jap an ese and A m e ric a n a ttitu d es to w ard w a ter u ses that co u ld e n d an g e r a fish species.

birdw atching (com pared with 24% o f A m ericans), and 28% reported ow ning a com panion anim al (com pared w ith 67% o f the A m erican sample). Japanese and A m erican respondents w ere very sim ilar, how ever, when the activities involved less direct contact w ith anim als, such as visiting zoological parks (40% o f Japa nese vs. 46% o f A m erican respondents) or viewing w ildlife on television (86% vs. 78% , respectively). A grass-roots environm ental m ovem ent is generally regarded as m ore char acteristic o f A m erican than Japanese society (M cK ean, 1981; Pierce, Tsurutani, & Lovrich, 1986). T his im pression was supported by the finding that m ore than 11% o f A m erican respondents— com pared to less than 2% o f Japanese respon dents— reported being a m em ber o f a conservation or anim al-related organiza tion. Likew ise, few er A m ericans than Japanese w ere w illing to fill a w etland habitat critical to an endangered bird species if it would result in increased urban em ploym ent benefits (38% vs. 56% , respectively). On the other hand, Japanese and A m erican respondents w ere equally inclined to approve o f a w ater project that destroyed the habitat o f an endangered fish if it produced im portant benefits, and a m ajority o f respondents in both countries objected if the w ater benefits w ere m erely recreational (see Fig. 4).

Discussion Inform ation has been presented on w ildlife-related attitudes, know ledge, and behavior found am ong citizens o f the w orld ’s leading industrial dem ocra


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cies— the United States, Japan, and Germany. A lthough variations in research procedures lim it the ability to generalize from these results, the use o f sim ilar conceptual and m ethodological approaches does perm it som e broad conclusions. T he m ajority o f A m erican, Japanese, and G erm an respondents w ere in terested in and appreciative o f individual anim als— typically, species with strong aesthetic, cultural, and historic associations. Conversely, m ost respondents show ed lim ited concern for or know ledge o f w ildlife species and the ecosystem s that support them . O ne encouraging result w as the finding o f significantly greater w ildlife appreciation, interest, and concern am ong younger and better educated respondents (with the exception o f 18-35-year-old and college-educated Japa nese respondents). T he A m erican public was som ew hat paradoxical in revealing great affection and concern for individual anim als and their welfare (e .g ., pets), but also highly pragm atic and indifferent views o f m ost other anim als. Historical analyses o f secondary data have also found that despite significant decreases in utilitarian sentim ent and increases in hum anistic perspectives tow ard anim als during this century, a pragm atic view o f nature and w ildlife rem ains the dom inant perspec tive in the United States today (Kellert, 1985a). T he cooccurrence in contem po rary A m erican society o f hum anistic and m oralistic attitudes on the one hand, and negativistic and utilitarian attitudes on the other, may offer some insight as to why so much conflict and controversy surround the m anagem ent and treatm ent o f w ildlife. T his diversity is further suggested by attitudinal variation am ong diverse A m erican dem ographic groups distinguished by age, gender, education, incom e, and geographic area o f residence (Kellert, 1987; Kellert & Berry, 1981). These regional, u rb an -ru ral, and socioeconom ic differences may be the result of A m erica’s highly pluralistic and heterogeneous society. A different paradox w as encountered in Japan. A lthough Japanese respon dents expressed a strong interest in and appreciation for preferred species, the m ajority indicated considerable indifference and lack o f ecological or ethical concern for m ost w ildlife and associated habitats. T hese findings are surprising in light o f scholarly assessm ents that refer to a Japanese affection, respect, and even “ love” o f nature. Higuchi (1979, p. 19) has suggested, for exam ple, that Japanese views o f nature are “ based on a feeling o f aw e and respect.” W atanabe (1974, p. 280) argues that a basic characteristic o f Japanese culture is “ a love o f nature . . . [that] has resulted in a refined appreciation o f the beauty o f nature.” A nd M urota (1986, p. 105) has w ritten that: “The Japanese view o f nature is quite different from that o f W esterners. . . . T he Japanese nature is an all-per vasive force. . . . Nature is at once a blessing and friend to the Japanese people. . . . People in W estern cultures, on the other hand, view nature as an object and, often, as an entity set in opposition to hum ankind.” T he results o f this study did reveal a Japanese appreciation o f nature and w ildlife, though it was often highly restricted. Japanese interest w as largely

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confined to particular species or individual anim als, frequently adm ired in a context em phasizing control, m anipulation, or contrivance. T his affinity for nature w as often an idealistic re-creation or artistic rendering o f particularly valued aspects o f the natural environm ent. Japanese appreciation often lacked an ecological or ethical orientation to nature. As Saito (1983, p. 192) has suggested, “ Nature is not . . . respected for its own sake but because it allow s one to escape. . . . This appreciation o f nature not only im plies an anthropocentric attitude . . . but also suggests [an] ineffectiveness in generating an ethically desirable justification for protecting nature.” A lthough the G erm an data were som ew hat lim ited, they perm it a few pre lim inary conclusions. The m ost striking im pression was that o f a very idealistic and rom anticized G erm an attitude tow ard anim als and the natural environm ent. G erm an respondents consistently expressed strong affection and support for ani mals and their w elfare, reflected in a pattern o f high m oralistic, hum anistic, naturalistic, and ecologistic scale scores, and very low utilitarian and dom in ionistic scale scores. M oreover, despite a strong hunting tradition in G erm an culture, the public overw helm ingly disapproved o f this activity. The reason for its unpopularity am ong m em bers o f the public may rest partly in the fact that hunting has traditionally been an elitist sport in Germany. Strongly expressed ideals o f affection, protectionist concern, and natu ralistic interest may reflect the recreational and sym bolic im portance o f the natural environm ent to m any G erm ans. Leopold (1936), Plochm an (1968), and Wolfe (1970), for exam ple, have all noted strongly held G erm an feelings for forests and w ildlife, particularly gam e anim als. As N elsen (1987, pp. 36, 53) rem arked, G erm ans “ look to the forest . . . as a symbol o f sim pler tim es . . . and a m ore harm onious state o f nature. . . . G am e anim als are a pervasive elem ent o f traditional popular culture.” G erm any is a country in w hich m any difficult forestry and anim al m anage m ent decisions have a long and established tradition. The consequences o f high human population density and a lengthy history o f hum an settlem ent and land use have resulted in a very m anaged landscape w ith m any indigenous species either elim inated or currently m aintained under highly regulated and controlled circum stances. M ost G erm ans are rem oved from direct contact or responsibility for w ildlife, and they tend to appreciate anim als and the natural environm ent from a relatively distant position. G erm ans rarely confront the need for exploiting or controlling w ildlife, and for m any people, anim als and nature constitute m ore an aesthetic and sym bolic than utilitarian resource.

Conclusion T he m ajority o f respondents in the U nited States, Japan, and G erm any expressed appreciation and affection for particular anim al species. T hese senti


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m ents are certainly laudable. T he history o f w ildlife conservation has repeatedly dem onstrated the im portance o f sym pathetic feelings for particular species as a basis for m obilizing citizen support for the conservation o f w ildlife and the natural environm ent (C art, 1971; M atthiessen, 1989). Yet the inadequacy o f this perspective as a basis for w ildlife appreciation is also apparent, particularly in tod ay ’s global conservation context. T he contem po rary species extinction crisis requires a broad concern for w ildlife and the natural w orld. T he specter o f mass extinctions is a problem that will affect largely unknow n invertebrates com prising perhaps 90% o f all animal species and 95% o f existing anim al biom ass (W ilson, 1987). An effective and m eaningful w ildlife conservation m ovem ent will require an increasing recognition o f the ecological and practical im portance o f many so-called low er life form s. This expanded understanding will necessitate m ore than an expressed concern for individual animal species possessing unusual cultural, aesthetic, and historic appeal (Kel lert, 1985b). The urgency o f contem porary w ildlife conservation can no longer afford a public that rem ains aloof from the biological matrix o f presum ably “ low er” life form s and restricts its concern to a narrow segm ent o f the biotic community. The leadership o f the industrial superpow ers— the United States, Japan, and G erm any— will be critical in the evolution o f a more environm entally responsi ble and enlightened global perspective. T hese three countries collectively repre sent an extraordinary influence on the w orld’s biota, and their current preem i nence necessitates a m ore assertive role as environm ental stew ards and m odels. It behooves the industrial superpow ers to assum e an am bitious agenda o f creative leadership in any strategy intended to counter the om inous drift tow ard planetary w ildlife extinction and destruction. A narrow and restricted appreciation for only select species is clearly an insufficient basis for cultivating a more environm en tally responsible and literate global citizen.

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STEPH EN R. K ELLER T is a professor at the Yale U niversity School o f Forestry and Environm ental Studies. He has engaged in extensive research on h u m a n anim al relationships and w ildlife conservation for the past 20 years. H e is cur rently studying h u m an -an im al relationships in K enya, Z im babw e, N epal, C ana da, and the U nited States. He was recently aw arded a D istinguished Individual A chievem ent Award from the Society for Conservation Biology.