Motivations behind wild animal consumption in social media in Mexico

A case study

Bibliographic Data

ID19583172
AuthorsMarielise Gutiérrez‐Ibarra (Universidad de las Américas Puebla), José Miguel Jiménez Lara (Universidad de las Américas Puebla), Francisco Amador-Cruz (0000-0001-6295-9856, Universidad de Guadalajara), Evangelina Camargo‐Rivera (Motocle A.C. San Andrés Cholula Puebla Mexico), O Eric Ramírez‐Bravo (0000-0002-7328-0459, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume6
Issue2
Pages676-686
Publication date2024-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePeople and Nature (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2575-8314 • E-ISSN: 2575-8314
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/pan3.10596
OpenAlexW4391635323
LanguageEN
References cited57

Wildlife trade is a worldwide threat to biodiversity. It is a complex problem, and to deal with it, one must analyse its constituting factors, some of which are specific to certain geographic areas. Although Mexican laws have prohibited selling wild products, Mexico is still both a source and consumer of exotic wildlife; however, there is limited data on why people participate in this type of trade. This paper aims to understand people's motivations for participating in the wildlife trade. 192 surveys on a population segment unrelated to it and 30 in‐depth interviews were performed to determine the patterns of wildlife trade in Mexico. Finally, we performed two in‐person interviews with collectors of large‐scale animals. The outcomes demonstrated that Facebook was the social media showing more wildlife content. Most participants were aware of the diverse impacts of the animal trade, as well as, that offering, buying and having certain animals was a crime but were assuaged due to common knowledge that authorities do not investigate social media. Finally, based on the findings from the in‐person interviews, it was observed that the individuals engaged in heavy trafficking believed that their actions were altruistic in nature. We concluded that the primary motivations for wildlife trade in Mexico were economic status and prestige within their social groups. In that order, our study is a pioneering attempt to determine motivations in Mexico, which could be a basis for future regional studies. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Advertising · Biology · Business · Geography · Political science · Population · Prestige · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Wildlife · Wildlife trade · Demography · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Law · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Ecology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access