Tourists attitude change in wildlife consumption in and around protected areas in China

Abstract

After the outbreak of COVID-19, China has taken a quick action and issued a ban on terrestrial wildlife consumption. After 2 years' implementation of the ban, the long effect of ban is a concern. In order to understand the public attitudes towards wildlife consumption and its change before and after the outbreak of the pandemic, the study was conducted among tourists in Zhalong and Xishuangbanna nature reserves, where there has been news on tourists consuming wildlife before the pandemic. A total of 348 valid questionnaires (128 in Zhalong and 220 in Xishuangbanna) were collected. The survey results show that collaborative actions coordinating strict enforcement and publicity is the most critical factor affecting wildlife protection. The top two reasons why tourists ceased consuming wildlife were wildlife consumption ban and fear of the zoonotic disease, while extensive publicity was the determinant factor to the high perception of the strict enforcement and the risk of zoonotic diseases caused by wildlife among tourists. And tourists have a higher sense of responsibility for wildlife protection after the outbreak of the pandemic, more than 50 % tourists (61.9 % in Zhalong and 48.4 % in Xishuangbanna) would like to take more proactive action than only refusing to buy wildlife, such as reporting to authorities and dissuading others from buying when encountering illegal wildlife selling. However, it is found that more efforts should be taken to enhance the tourists' knowledge of wildlife and wildlife protection laws. Even though about 90 % tourists know about the ban and other legislations on wildlife, about half of tourists have no clear idea about the specific provisions. The knowledge about wildlife is even poorer, only about one third of tourists surveyed gave 100 % correct answer to the questions about the species that are categorized as wildlife and the wildlife that are permitted to be farmed and eat. Geography is found to have influences on tourists' law compliance and perception of wildlife protection. The tourists from the north show stronger obedience to government requirements but have less knowledge of wildlife legislations, while those from the south, who have the better knowledge of wildlife legislations, show a lower inclination (65.5 % in Xishuangbanna) for the permanent ban on wildlife consumption. The tourists surveyed with higher education or employed in wildlife-related sectors have cautious attitudes towards the complete and permanent ban and prefer to support the science-based management of wildlife protection.