The General Public’s Perception and Understanding of the Illegal Wildlife Trade and its Impacts.

The illegal wildlife trade exploits millions of animals and plants for purposes such as pets, personal collections, clothing, food and medicine. The impacts are far-reaching, not only affecting the target species but also global ecosystems, human health and security. Due to its complex nature and phenomena such as ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ (where people’s mental baseline unknowingly changes), the understanding and perception of these impacts may vary demographically. Using an online survey, participants rated the seriousness of the impacts (General, Target species, Non-target species, Ecosystems, Human health, Human security) on a scale of 1-10 to create an average impact score. After being provided with an information booklet, participants were then able to change their previous answers. The impact score significantly increased after reading the information booklet (Mann-Whitney U: P<0.001). The 18-25 age group’s perception of the general impact was significantly lower than 55-64’s (LSD: P=0.03). With the exception of human health, there was no significant difference between the male and female perception (LSD: P=0.039). The overall significant increase in understanding of the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade, particularly on human health and security illustrates that due to its complex nature, many are unaware of the impacts the trade has. Little evidence of a difference in perception of impacts between the age groups to confirm shifting baseline syndrome is occurring but the significant difference between 18-25’s and 55-64’s suggests generational amnesia. Females perceive the impact on health higher, potentially due to perceiving their state of health to be generally worse.