Cabral de Mel Surendranie J, Seneweera Saman, Dangolla Ashoka, Weerakoon Devaka K, Maraseni Tek, Allen Benjamin L
Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia.
National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Aug 18;13(16):2657. doi: 10.3390/ani13162657.
Aversive geofencing devices (AGDs) or animal-borne satellite-linked shock collars might become a useful tool to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC). AGDs have the potential to condition problem elephants to avoid human-dominated landscapes by associating mild electric shocks with preceding audio warnings given as they approach virtual boundaries. We assessed the opinions of different stakeholders (experts, farmers, and others who have and have not experienced HEC; n = 611) on the potential use of AGDs on Asian elephants. Most respondents expressed positive opinions on the potential effectiveness of AGDs in managing elephant movement (62.2%). About 62.8% respondents also provided positive responses for the acceptability of AGDs if pilot studies with captive elephants have been successful in managing their movements. Some respondents perceived AGDs to be unacceptable because they are unethical or harmful and would be unsuccessful given wild elephants may respond differently to AGDs than captive elephants. Respondents identified acceptability, support and awareness of stakeholders, safety and wellbeing of elephants, logistical difficulties, durability and reliable functionality of AGDs, and uncertainties in elephants' responses to AGDs as potential challenges for implementing AGDs. These issues need attention when developing AGDs to increase support from stakeholders and to effectively reduce HEC incidents in the future.
厌恶式电子围栏设备（AGDs）或动物携带的卫星连接电击项圈可能会成为缓解人象冲突（HEC）的有用工具。AGDs有潜力通过在问题大象接近虚拟边界时将温和的电击与之前发出的音频警告联系起来，使它们适应避免人类主导的景观。我们评估了不同利益相关者（专家、农民以及经历过人象冲突和未经历过人象冲突的其他人；n = 611）对在亚洲象身上潜在使用AGDs的看法。大多数受访者对AGDs在管理大象活动方面的潜在有效性表达了积极看法（62.2%）。如果对圈养大象的试点研究在管理它们的活动方面取得成功，约62.8%的受访者也对AGDs的可接受性给出了肯定答复。一些受访者认为AGDs不可接受，因为它们不道德或有害，而且鉴于野生大象对AGDs的反应可能与圈养大象不同，可能不会成功。受访者指出，利益相关者的可接受性、支持和认知、大象的安全与福祉、后勤困难、AGDs的耐用性和可靠功能，以及大象对AGDs反应的不确定性是实施AGDs的潜在挑战。在开发AGDs时，这些问题需要引起关注，以增加利益相关者的支持，并在未来有效减少人象冲突事件。
