College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki-shi, Japan.
Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, Kazo-shi, Japan.
Conserv Biol. 2023 Dec;37(6):e14130. doi: 10.1111/cobi.14130. Epub 2023 Aug 4.
Reintroducing apex predators is an important approach in ecosystem restoration; however, it is challenging. Wolves (Canis lupus) were exterminated in Japan around 1900, and since then, there has been a lack of top predators throughout the country. Currently, the wild ungulate population is increasing, causing agricultural and forest damage. This has triggered an ongoing debate among researchers and nongovernmental organizations on whether wolves should be reintroduced to promote self-regulating biodiverse ecosystems. We conducted a nationwide survey to examine public attitudes toward wolf reintroduction (WR) in Japan. We sent online questionnaires to 88,318 citizens across the country. Among the 12,028 respondents, excluding those with invalid or incomplete answers and unqualified respondents, we obtained and analyzed 7500 responses that were representative of Japanese citizens in terms of some key sociodemographic attributes. More respondents disagreed with WR (39.9%) than agreed (17.1%), and many respondents (43.0%) were undecided. Structural equation modeling revealed that risk perceptions affected public attitudes, implying that the greater the perceived threat of wolf attacks, the less likely people are to support WR. In contrast, attitudes toward wolves (e.g., "I like wolves.") influenced by wildlife value orientation and beliefs about the ecological role of wolves (e.g., controlling deer populations) positively affected public attitudes toward WR. Those who had a positive attitude toward WR showed intentions to engage in behaviors that support WR. Our results suggest that the dissemination of information related to the ecological role of wolves and the development of a more mutualistic mindset in people could positively influence public support for WR in Japan.
重新引入顶级掠食者是生态系统恢复的重要方法；然而，这是具有挑战性的。狼（Canis lupus）在 1900 年左右在日本被消灭，从那时起，整个国家就缺乏顶级掠食者。目前，野生有蹄类动物的数量正在增加，导致农业和森林受损。这在研究人员和非政府组织中引发了一场持续的辩论，即是否应该重新引入狼来促进自我调节的生物多样性生态系统。我们进行了一项全国性调查，以研究公众对日本狼重新引入（WR）的态度。我们向全国各地的 88318 名公民发送了在线问卷。在 12028 名回答者中，我们排除了那些回答无效或不完整以及不合格的回答者，获得并分析了 7500 名具有代表性的日本公民对狼重新引入的回答，这些回答者在一些关键的社会人口属性方面具有代表性。更多的受访者不同意狼重新引入（39.9%）而不是同意（17.1%），许多受访者（43.0%）持不确定态度。结构方程模型显示，风险认知影响公众态度，这意味着人们对狼袭击的威胁感知越大，他们就越不可能支持 WR。相比之下，对狼的态度（例如，“我喜欢狼。”）受到野生动物价值观取向和对狼的生态角色的信念（例如，控制鹿群）的影响，积极影响公众对 WR 的态度。那些对 WR 持积极态度的人表现出支持 WR 的行为意图。我们的研究结果表明，传播与狼的生态角色相关的信息以及在人们中培养更互利的心态，可能会对日本公众对 WR 的支持产生积极影响。
