Sociology contributions to wildlife studies: A wildlife health focus

This article examines the emerging field of wildlife sociology, emphasising the potential of a social model of conservation to foster increased public engagement in wildlife health. Our illustrative literature review of some wildlife sociology articles (n = 52) explored the scope of this field, and the research approaches and sociological analyses commonly employed. Our analysis focused on three key areas: the application of sociological imagination, the applicability of social model of conservation themes adapted from the ‘social model of health,’ and public willingness and ability to help wildlife. Our illustrative review found that despite being in its early stages, and the research approaches mainly consisting of exploratory and case study research, the scope of field is expanding. Regarding the application of the sociological imagination, the cultural and structural lenses are garnering more attention than the historical and critical lenses. With respect to social model of health themes, social construction and social organisation aspects of wildlife issues are receiving greater attention than social inequality, social production, and social distribution themes. We found just six articles on public willingness and ability to help wildlife, compared to a preponderance of studies concerning negative human-wildlife interactions, illustrating an important gap in sociology's contribution to wildlife studies, which could assist further exploration of a social model of conservation and its potential to foster public support for wildlife health. Such a model could echo the advancements seen in human health outcomes following its shift from a largely bioscientific model to a social model in the 1940s, with important assistance from the sociology discipline.