Hi guys and welcome back to my blog!

For my last primary research blog, I would like to find out whether there is indeed a bias amongst Singaporeans on different wildlife.

Ang and Png(2020), a research scientist at Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund and the co-founder of Singapore Youth Voices for biodiversity respectively, mentioned in a commentary in Channels News Asia that animals deemed to be more attractive and well-liked are more likely to be conserved. They cited the example of otters and pythons in Singapore.where If people were to see an otter, they were more likely want to look at it and take pictures of the otters whereas they would more likely call pest companies if they were to see python. This is further supported by the news where a pest control worker was stepping on a python as he and other pest control workers were trying to remove the python from a drain in Jurong West (Mahmud, 2020).

Hence, to find out more about the bias, I conducted a survey with 72 respondents to find out their thoughts and feelings towards two animals found in Singapore: the otters and wild boars. Are they any bias or preference and do these affect the conservation status of the different animals?

Personal Feelings

Safety

 

Pests

Based on the survey results, it seems that comparatively, otters are indeed more well-liked than wild boars. Otters are also perceived to be less dangerous to our safety compared to wild boars. The respondents also do not find otters as pests. This is slightly different from their views of wild boars where there is a small percentage that do find wild boars to be pests.

Hence just from this survey, it is safe to say that there is a certain bias towards certain animals such as the cute otters. However due to lack of foresight, I did not manage to ask in the survey whether the otters and wild boars are deserving of conservation so I cannot conclude that there is a correlation between likability and the conservation of the animal.

However, it is worth noting, that more than half of the respondents do find wild boars to pose a threat to their safety and there are people that find wild boars to be pests. This is significant as from my last week’s findings, Singapore residents are more willing to allow the hunting of animals that pose safety threats and are considered pests.

Conclusion for the entire primary research

To summarise three weeks of primary research, there is a clear lack of awareness and knowledge on wildlife in Singapore.  There are also built in bias and prejudice amongst the Singapore residents towards certain animals. Additionally, Singapore residents are also unaware of the value of wildlife which can be seen in 1 of my surveys where I asked the respondents to state  values or benefits of having wildlife in Singapore and about half of the respondents could not think of any.

In my opinion, the best way to conserve all wildlife regardless of bias is through education.

I will end off this blog with a quote

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught” (Baba Dioum, 1968).

Thank you!

References

Ang, A., Png K. (2020, November 6). Commentary: Cute otters and pangolins get saved but are ugly animals a lost conservation cause? CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/wildlife-conservation-fund-charismatic-biodiversity-nature-urban-13479626

Mahmud, A.H. (2020, September 15). Pest companies ‘lacking’ in wildlife handling and will improve, says association after criticism. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pest-control-company-snake-acres-nparks-improve-criticism-13109052