Abstract
National and international conventions encourage the use of reintroduction to restore populations of native species.
BIAZAs' actions for the conservation of biodiversity are guided by WAZA (TheWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums)and the IUCN. The IUCNs guidelines for Reintroductions state that to establish a viable, free-ranging population in the wild it is necessary to enlist public support (IUCN, 2013).
An understanding of the attitudes of varied sectors of society about the focal species helps projects address key issues more effectively, saving time and funding.
The red-billed chough was once widespread in coastal areas but today it is Britain’s most endangered corvid, mostly due to changes in farming practises.
In the UK fewer than 450 pairs remain in small and isolated populations. The chough has been missing from Kent for more than 200 years. After decades of restauration the local chalk grasslands now provide the perfect conditions for its return. The aims of this study was to inform the reintroduction project planned for summer 2023, a collaboration between Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Trust and other partners. They wish to establish a population that can connect with others along the southern coast.
In the summer of 2022 we conducted focus groups and interviews to learn about how different groups and local residents relate to the chough, its conservation, reintroduction and management of populations.
Questions were structured based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, however, the main point of focus groups is to give local people a voice and listen to emerging themes that will be of interest for further investigation.
The findings from the focus groups and interviews together with questionnaires, will provide a baseline that can be revisited and compared with future attitudinal surveys, providing evidence of changes in attitudes over time in response to interventions and campaigns by the Chough Reintroduction Project.
In this presentation we discuss the findings from the focus groups and make recommendations.
BIAZAs' actions for the conservation of biodiversity are guided by WAZA (TheWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums)and the IUCN. The IUCNs guidelines for Reintroductions state that to establish a viable, free-ranging population in the wild it is necessary to enlist public support (IUCN, 2013).
An understanding of the attitudes of varied sectors of society about the focal species helps projects address key issues more effectively, saving time and funding.
The red-billed chough was once widespread in coastal areas but today it is Britain’s most endangered corvid, mostly due to changes in farming practises.
In the UK fewer than 450 pairs remain in small and isolated populations. The chough has been missing from Kent for more than 200 years. After decades of restauration the local chalk grasslands now provide the perfect conditions for its return. The aims of this study was to inform the reintroduction project planned for summer 2023, a collaboration between Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Trust and other partners. They wish to establish a population that can connect with others along the southern coast.
In the summer of 2022 we conducted focus groups and interviews to learn about how different groups and local residents relate to the chough, its conservation, reintroduction and management of populations.
Questions were structured based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, however, the main point of focus groups is to give local people a voice and listen to emerging themes that will be of interest for further investigation.
The findings from the focus groups and interviews together with questionnaires, will provide a baseline that can be revisited and compared with future attitudinal surveys, providing evidence of changes in attitudes over time in response to interventions and campaigns by the Chough Reintroduction Project.
In this presentation we discuss the findings from the focus groups and make recommendations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| Event | BIAZA Conservation Conference: “One Health” - Duration: 1 Jan 2023 → … |
Conference
| Conference | BIAZA Conservation Conference: “One Health” |
|---|---|
| Period | 1/01/23 → … |
Keywords
- Biodiversity conservation
- Birds
- Chough
- Human-wildlife interactions
- Kent
- Reintroduction
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