“Minor crimes” against wildlife: Small offenses, lasting impact, and a proposed solution

Abstract

Past research has examined why people engage in negative consumer behaviors, but research has not adequately examined what drives minor crimes against wildlife, which is important given their prevalence and impact on the welfare of wildlife. We address this need for research with two studies that examine minor crimes against wildlife in the context of wildlife jams (i.e., traffic jams caused by wildlife in and around roadways that obstruct the normal flow of traffic). Study 1 introduces a research methodology very new to the field of marketing by using participant observation and geospatial data to characterize actual behaviors of people during wildlife jam events in a national park setting. Study 2 begins with a pre‐test identifying the primary reasons for participation in wildlife jams before the main study tests a message‐based intervention strategy to reduce wildlife jams using five conditions (no message, standard message, attitudes‐based message, norms‐based message, control‐based message). Results reveal that a norms‐based message reduced intentions to participate in wildlife jams the most, while all messaging tactics were more effective than no message. Findings build on the theory of planned behavior, and suggestions for decreasing consumer harm to wildlife are discussed.

Experiences and enjoyment of national parks: study of Nyerere National Park in Tanzania

“…The study area for this paper is Nyerere National Park in Tanzania. Nyerere National Park is selected due to its tourism potential, and also according to Tanzania National Parks Source Findings Alamsyah and Wardi (2020) Engagement as a dimension of measuring enjoyment Blomstervik et al (2020) Novelty in tourism national parks for international and domestic tourists with mostly female educated with university education Boonpat and Suvachart (2014) Direct experiences from tourism cultural perspective Japutra and Keni (2020) Image as a fulfillment for tourists Lin et al (2008) Engagement as a dimension of measuring enjoyment Minton et al (2020) Negative effects of national parks Mkwizu ( 2018 In tourists' memorable experiences there was positive effect between visitor engagement and e-word of mouth in heritage sites Snyman et al (2023) Positive linkage between national parks and development Xu and Chan (2009) Direct experiences through evaluation of goods and services Note(s): Source and Findings Table 1.…”

“…(2023) indicates the positive side of national parks. On the other hand, Minton, Sisneros-Kidd, and Monz (2020) concentrated on wildlife with much concern on negative effects of national parks such as safety rather than enjoyment of national parks. In fact, Mkwizu (2018), Mogomotsi et al.…”

How to overcome the intention–behavior gap in sustainable tourism: Tourism Agenda 2030 perspective article

“…Therefore, it is important to provide reliable and generalized knowledge to improve the ecology of research (Van Heerde et al , 2021) and understand how consumers, organization or policymakers can help achieve the sustainable development goals. Field experiments (Grazzini et al , 2018), field observations (Minton et al , 2020), (N)ethnography (Herjanto et al , 2021) and secondary data (D’Lima et al , 2018) can all complement the package of studies. This does not mean we should neglect the utility of online or laboratory studies.…”

From warrior to guardian: An autoethnographic study of how consumers think about and interact with the natural world

“…Consumptive recreation activities, such as hunting, bring direct change to wildlife populations, whereas nonconsumptive recreational activities, such as skiing, do not intend to exert the same direct impact on the environment (Minton et al, 2020). However, researchers have identified that nonconsumptive recreational activities may also result in negative impacts on wildlife and the resultant environment (Blanc et al, 2006; Larson et al, 2016; Olsen, 2022).…”