Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion
Abstract The view that whales are malicious monsters has been pervasive throughout history. Conversely, the idea that these animals experience suffering has emerged only recently. One way of investigating perceptual, as well as behavioural, shifts is assessing general public reactions to mortality e...
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crwiley:10.1002/aqc.1135 2024-09-15T18:30:31+00:00 Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion Bearzi, Giovanni Pierantonio, Nino Bonizzoni, Silvia Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe Demma, Massimo 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1135 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.1135 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.1135 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 20, issue 6, page 644-654 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 journal-article 2010 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1135 2024-08-13T04:19:09Z Abstract The view that whales are malicious monsters has been pervasive throughout history. Conversely, the idea that these animals experience suffering has emerged only recently. One way of investigating perceptual, as well as behavioural, shifts is assessing general public reactions to mortality events involving wild, rare and charismatic animals. Here, the responses of 118 individuals to questions regarding the mass stranding of seven sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) along the Adriatic Sea coast of Italy in December 2009 are reported through interviews taken at the stranding site and in the direct proximity of the dead animals. When asked why the whales were stranded, 44.1% of the respondents suggested anthropogenic causes and 21.2% non‐anthropogenic. The remaining 34.7% mentioned a generic ‘disorientation’ or stated they did not know. When asked how they felt about the whales, 68.6% expressed feelings of compassion or care towards the animals. Clearly non‐compassionate attitudes accounted for only 4.1% of the sample. Finally, 21.2% expressed feelings that were ambiguous in terms of being suggestive of compassionate or non‐compassionate attitudes, including 11.9% amazement, 4.2% deprecation and 5.1% powerlessness. These results are in stark contrast with information obtained from accounts of similar events that have occurred in historical times, up until the first half of the 20th century. For centuries, responses to cetacean live strandings—typically including killing and harming of the animals—were either utilitarian or characterized by feelings including fear and a desire to ‘subjugate the beast’, with no apparent concern for their suffering and death. It is concluded that attitudes towards whales—today strikingly revolving around sadness, compassion and a sense of loss—have changed dramatically over time, with a steep turnaround in the 1970/1980s. Full appreciation of the ongoing evolution in public perception can channel marine conservation efforts and assist in the design of response strategies ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Wiley Online Library Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20 6 644 654 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract The view that whales are malicious monsters has been pervasive throughout history. Conversely, the idea that these animals experience suffering has emerged only recently. One way of investigating perceptual, as well as behavioural, shifts is assessing general public reactions to mortality events involving wild, rare and charismatic animals. Here, the responses of 118 individuals to questions regarding the mass stranding of seven sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) along the Adriatic Sea coast of Italy in December 2009 are reported through interviews taken at the stranding site and in the direct proximity of the dead animals. When asked why the whales were stranded, 44.1% of the respondents suggested anthropogenic causes and 21.2% non‐anthropogenic. The remaining 34.7% mentioned a generic ‘disorientation’ or stated they did not know. When asked how they felt about the whales, 68.6% expressed feelings of compassion or care towards the animals. Clearly non‐compassionate attitudes accounted for only 4.1% of the sample. Finally, 21.2% expressed feelings that were ambiguous in terms of being suggestive of compassionate or non‐compassionate attitudes, including 11.9% amazement, 4.2% deprecation and 5.1% powerlessness. These results are in stark contrast with information obtained from accounts of similar events that have occurred in historical times, up until the first half of the 20th century. For centuries, responses to cetacean live strandings—typically including killing and harming of the animals—were either utilitarian or characterized by feelings including fear and a desire to ‘subjugate the beast’, with no apparent concern for their suffering and death. It is concluded that attitudes towards whales—today strikingly revolving around sadness, compassion and a sense of loss—have changed dramatically over time, with a steep turnaround in the 1970/1980s. Full appreciation of the ongoing evolution in public perception can channel marine conservation efforts and assist in the design of response strategies ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bearzi, Giovanni Pierantonio, Nino Bonizzoni, Silvia Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe Demma, Massimo |
spellingShingle |
Bearzi, Giovanni Pierantonio, Nino Bonizzoni, Silvia Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe Demma, Massimo Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
author_facet |
Bearzi, Giovanni Pierantonio, Nino Bonizzoni, Silvia Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe Demma, Massimo |
author_sort |
Bearzi, Giovanni |
title |
Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
title_short |
Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
title_full |
Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
title_fullStr |
Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
title_full_unstemmed |
Perception of a cetacean mass stranding in Italy: the emergence of compassion |
title_sort |
perception of a cetacean mass stranding in italy: the emergence of compassion |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1135 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.1135 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.1135 |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus |
op_source |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 20, issue 6, page 644-654 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1135 |
container_title |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
container_volume |
20 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
644 |
op_container_end_page |
654 |
_version_ |
1810471988099022848 |