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Outdoor cats pose substantial threats to native biodiversity, especially on islands. However, cats also provide benefits to people, such as companionship and the killing of pests. Thus, management of outdoor cats is controversial and can lead to conflicts among stakeholders. Although previous studies have examined stakeholders’ preferences for outd...
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... Oshima Island is a part of the Nansei Islands in southern Japan (28 • 19 ′ N, 128 • 22 ′ E; Fig. 2). It is the fifth-largest island in Japan (712 km 2 ) and has approximately 86% forest cover (hereafter, ''Forest''). The number of residents on the island is about 70,000 (Japan Censuses, 2010), who mainly live in two areas: Naze area (37,000 people) and Koniya area (5,000 people). In this paper, we refer to both these areas as ...
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... whether the extremely negative views preceded or followed the introduction of so many feeding stations. Gaining consensus on the management of outdoor cats also was found to be difficult in a study on a Japanese island (44). Increasing numbers of feral cats perhaps are likely in the future as more people get pet cats; in the United States, an early study concluded that there were almost as many feral cats as pet cats (45). ...
The number of pet cats in South Korea has sharply increased since 2010. Problems have arisen with feral or stray cats, creating conflict among residents, to such an extent that the government provides some sites for people to offer feeding stations for the stray cats. This study investigated hypotheses on people’s attitudes toward feral cats in Seoul, South Korea: (i) dog and cat owners would show more positive attitudes than non-owners toward feral cats; (ii) females would have more positive attitudes toward feral cats than males; (iii) the number of Seoul-provided feeding stations by district would be correlated with people’s positive attitudes toward feral cats. Responses from 7,394 participants were used for the final analyses with 3,179 males, 3,607 females, and 599 others (includes “decline to state”). Cat owners reported more extremely positive attitudes toward feral cats than people who had no cats. Females more often had cats than males, and they were more extremely positive toward pet and feral cats than males, and strongly opposed to culling as a management strategy. The attitudes toward feral cats of people with only dogs were intermediate between people with cats and people without pets, more resembling those of people without pets. There was a correlation between the number of city-provided feeding stations and people’s attitudes toward feral cats, but only in the areas with at least 40 feeder stations; having many city-provided feeding stations was associated with very negative attitudes to feral cats. Whether the very large number of feeding stations were provided in the two neighborhoods due to a previously excessive number of feral cats in those neighborhoods, vs. those feeding stations attracting or provisioning an ever-growing number of feral cats, is unknown. These results show sharp differences in attitudes between cat owners and non-owners, and between males and females. Results resemble findings in other studies, perhaps with more extreme differences between sub-groups. The study revealed that attitudes toward pet and feral cats in Seoul were complex and varied with pet ownership, with sex, and with neighborhood context.
... Management of cats is challenging owing to them being identified as both feral/pest and companion/pet animals, which can garner mixed support (Farnworth et al., 2010(Farnworth et al., , 2011. Divided community support can be a limiting factor for the management of cats in urban environments (Mameno et al., 2017;Travaglia and Miller, 2018). Cat management in urban areas of Australia, and likely other areas, is largely insufficient for the protection of prey species and biodiversity (Threatened Species Recovery Hub, 2020). ...
Roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are recognised as a threat to wildlife globally. Yet management of pet cats in urbanised areas is not regularly mandated, and management of feral cats in urbanised areas is rarely implemented. Mounting evidence emphasises the value of urban environments as hot spots of wildlife activity, which as the human population continues to grow may become the best or only habitats available to some wildlife species. Wildlife in urban environments must navigate introduced stressors that can compound with natural stressors. Additional, often novel, predators such as free-roaming pet and feral cats that are prevalent in urban environments could have high nonconsumptive fear/stress impacts on urban wildlife that influence their activity and adversely affect their health and reproduction capabilities, possibly more so than direct predation effects do. Cat roaming activity, particularly that of pet cats, could be managed with the support of the community, though motivation needs to be ensured. Understanding if roaming cat activity influences urban wildlife activity via perceived fear/stress impacts will help to build community motivation for the need for domestic cat management in urbanised areas. Using infrared motion sensor cameras positioned in both yards and green space edge habitats, we observed whether the presence and times active of native and introduced small mammals, and native birds, were impacted by domestic cat activity within a 24-h period and by their activity in the prior-24-h period. We found evidence of cat roaming activity during the hours of most wildlife activity, and show that wildlife navigated “landscapes of fear” relative to cat activity, as wildlife observed across a 24-h period increased their activity in the absence of cats in the same 24-h period and in the previous 24-h period. We also tested if cat activity was relative to previous cat activity, or disturbances, and found that cats reduced activity in response to each, but were still consistently present. Our results provide justification for the need to increase management of domestic cats in urbanised areas and offer fear/stress impacts as a novel approach to engender community support of such management.
... This situation makes cat control difficult because owned cats can be culled accidentally and caused public consternation (Ratcliffe et al. 2010). Cat management in inhabited areas is a matter of contentious social debate and require strong arguments of the respective impacts of unowned and owned cats on native wildlife (Lilith et al. 2006;Kikillus et al. 2016;Mameno et al. 2017;Deak et al. 2019;Glen et al. 2020). Many studies have reported the negative effects of free-roaming unowned and owned cats on native species Bonnaud et al. 2011;Ferreira and Genaro 2017;Palmas et al. 2017). ...
Cats (Felis catus) introduced on islands have strong impacts on biodiversity, and the main conservation actions to protect native fauna is cat eradication or control (i.e., regular culling). The situation is more complicated on inhabited islands because unowned cats coexist with owned cats. The social acceptance of cat control implies separating the impacts of unowned and owned cats. We investigated the spatial ecology and impacts of owned and unowned cats at a seabird colony in a periurban area on Reunion Island (Indian Ocean). We used multiple methodologies to investigate this question: GPS-tracking of cats, camera-traps at seabird nests, cat scat analysis and cat control. Owned cats had small home ranges and did not forage at the seabird colony. Unowned cats had larger home ranges and foraged at seabird colony. We identified two kinds of unowned cats, stray cats and semi-feral cats. Stray cats relied on food waste and rarely foraged at seabird colony. Semi-feral cats foraged mostly in natural habitats, including the seabird colony and rarely used food waste. Semi-feral cats were very active at the seabird colony and several preyed upon seabirds. Restaurants are an abundant source of food for cats and help sustain populations of unowned cats. Control of unowned cats during this study resulted in reduced cat activity at the seabird colony. To minimize negative impacts of cats on seabirds, our results suggest that the most effective strategy includes the permanent control of unowned cats, efficient management of food waste and sterilization of owned cats.
... Moreover, although most Japanese cat owners living in urban areas keep their owned cats inside (Hall et al. 2016), there are many stray and feral cats (i.e., free-roaming unowned cats), especially in non-management areas. However, there has recently been a growing awareness of the issues associated with outdoor cats in Japan, especially on islands (e.g., Mameno et al. 2017, Mitsui et al. 2018, Glen & Hoshino 2020, and zoning management has been the primary strategy applied for outdoor cat management (Mameno et al. 2017, Ministry of the Environment 2018). In non-residential areas of isolated biodiversity conservation hotspots, environmental managers attempt to eradicate outdoor cats, as they are a significant threat to rare and endemic native species. ...
... Moreover, although most Japanese cat owners living in urban areas keep their owned cats inside (Hall et al. 2016), there are many stray and feral cats (i.e., free-roaming unowned cats), especially in non-management areas. However, there has recently been a growing awareness of the issues associated with outdoor cats in Japan, especially on islands (e.g., Mameno et al. 2017, Mitsui et al. 2018, Glen & Hoshino 2020, and zoning management has been the primary strategy applied for outdoor cat management (Mameno et al. 2017, Ministry of the Environment 2018). In non-residential areas of isolated biodiversity conservation hotspots, environmental managers attempt to eradicate outdoor cats, as they are a significant threat to rare and endemic native species. ...
... Moreover, although outdoor cats in non-hotspot areas may affect biodiversity maintenance (Lepczyk et al. 2004), few outdoor cats are managed to conserve biodiversity in urban and residential areas. In these areas, outdoor cats are actively managed to improve human well-being, as local residents desire the prevention of soiling of the environment with cat excreta (Mameno et al. 2017). These unowned outdoor cats in residential areas are generally managed using the trap-neuter-return (TNR) method. ...
Message framing contributes to an increase in public support for invasive species management. However, little is known about people's preferences for the multiple objectives of management within different contexts relating to the challenges and benefits of invasive species management. We examine Japanese citizens' preferences for the goals of free-roaming unowned cat (Felis catus) management in three contextual frames by applying experimentally controlled information and the best-worst scaling technique. Our results indicate that the ecological frame highlighting the ecological impacts of free-roaming unowned cats on native ecosystems significantly increases Japanese citizens' concern about cat predation, although the frame did not change the preference ranking of goals. There are differences in the effects of message framing depending on cat ownership. The best-worst scaling technique shows that Japanese citizens prefer to maintain a sanitary environment, followed by the prevention of zoonotic diseases. Although the ranking of sanitary environmental management does not depend on cat ownership, the ranking of the other goals differs depending on cat ownership. The findings highlight the importance of strategic message framing and its prioritization in encouraging public support for invasive species management.
... However, we believe that for example, the management of feral cats and dogs is a highly pertinent issue within the context of managing risk from invasive species, and environmental conservation and management more broadly (Medina et al. 2011;Hughes and Macdonald 2013). Domestic animals such as cats and dogs remain substantial threats to wildlife (Lepczyk et al. 2004;Longcore et al. 2009;Loss and Marra 2017), and projects aiming to remove them from the wild can be an important management strategy (Lohr and Lepczyk 2014;Mameno et al. 2017). This link, alongside the ability of these animals to capture donations means there is a potential opportunity to be explored by conservationists, although further research is needed to explore the complex interplay between pet ownership and interest in biodiversity conservation (Crowley et al. 2020). ...
Online crowdfunding can help address the perennial financial shortfalls in environmental conservation and management. Although many online crowdfunding campaigns fail to collect any funds due to not achieving their targets, little is known about what drives success. To address this knowledge gap, we applied a mixed-methods approach to data from 473 successful and failed campaigns hosted on the online crowdfunding platform Readyfor. We found that fundraising performance varied by topic, with campaigns on pet animal management outperforming those focussed on landscape management and sustainable use. We also found that marketing strategies associated with online findability and increased reach through social networks, increased fundraising success. However, the existence of other environmental campaigns running simultaneously, reduced the chance of success, which implies that the selecting popular topics does not always increase the likelihood of success due to increased competition. Wider applications of marketing could enhance the ability of environmental crowdfunding campaigns to raise funds.
... Human-wildlife interactions differ between areas (Finkler et al., 2011a;Soulsbury and White, 2015) and proximity to stray cat populations could be influential in acceptance for management scenarios as Wilken suggests (2012). Endemic biodiversity and proximity to significant ecological areas was also found an important factor for acceptance of management scenarios (Bassett et al., 2020;Hall et al., 2016;Mameno et al., 2017). Although stray cats are sometimes perceived themselves as pests, depending on the habitat, stray cats can serve as pest control themselves in different areas (Bonacic et al., 2019;Mahlaba et al., 2017;Parsons et al., 2018). ...
... Understanding the dynamics of these subfactors is challenging due to often complex behaviours and habitats (Dickman, 2010). Taking into account the characteristics of the inhabitants and the habitat of the area of residence is complex but crucial for effective stray cat policy (Lord, 2008;Mameno et al., 2017). All these variables play a role in designing policies, targeting communication and creating public awareness (Deak et al., 2019;Finkler et al., 2011b;Flockhart et al., 2016). ...
Stray cat population management is an important worldwide issue. Understanding citizen attitudes towards stray cat control options is vital to the success of controlling stray cat numbers, as public perception affects the acceptance of, support for and collaboration in stray cat management policies. Audience segmentation, as to enable each group to be engaged in the stray cat management policy, is important for the success of the interventions. Therefore a web-based survey was conducted among Flemish citizens in order to examine differences in acceptance towards seven management scenarios: household cat neutering with financial support for the owner, household cat neutering without financial support for the owner, encouraging responsible household cat ownership, trapping stray cats and taking them to a shelter, trapping and neutering stray cats for release into a managed “cat colony” (composed by so called “community cats”), trapping and killing of stray cats, and undertaking no action. A total of 4059 valid responses were collected and the proportions of agreement were compared across the different management scenarios using the two-sample z-test. Interactions among factors that influenced each management scenario were investigated using the CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis and visualized on a tree.
Our results showed that fostering responsible household cat ownership (89.9%) and conversion of stray cats to “community cats” (76.3%) were most supported by respondents in our sample (which consisted mainly of females, cat-lovers, and families without children). Least supported were the killing of stray cats (7.7%) and undertaking no action (3.3%). The demographic analyses revealed that for the acceptance of management scenarios there were three important factors (attitude towards cats, area of residence, and gender), two weaker factors (education and having children) and two which had almost no impact (age and cat ownership). We propose that future studies should focus on the effect of ‘area of residence’, ‘having children’ and ‘education’.
In conclusion, our research confirms that management of and communication on stray cat strategies should not be developed with a one-size-fits-all approach. Efforts should be tailored to each audience segment, thus adapted to the area of residence and human characteristics.
... Lethal options are the most common methods applied for successful eradication programs (Nogales et al., 2004) because they are considered more cost-effective than the in situ non-lethal option (Trap, Neuter, and Release [TNR]; Lohr et al., 2013). However, using lethal options for invasive species management often causes conservation conflicts, especially in residential areas (Japelj et al., 2019) because lethal options are not accepted by some citizens, particularly animal welfare stakeholders and cat owners (Lohr & Lepczyk, 2014;Mameno et al., 2017;. In particular, Japanese feral cat management has serious conservation conflicts because the rate of acceptance of the lethal option tends to be low among Japanese people. ...
... In particular, Japanese feral cat management has serious conservation conflicts because the rate of acceptance of the lethal option tends to be low among Japanese people. For example, Mameno et al. (2017) showed that four-fifths of residents rejected the lethal option on Amami Oshima Island, where cat predation has caused a decline in native and rare species. The Ministry of the Environment (2020) reported that there was controversy about using lethal options for feral cat management on Amami Oshima Island. ...
... Therefore, non-lethal management of cats in residential areas often has to be implemented (Loyd & Miller, 2010b;Mameno et al., 2017;Mitsui et al., 2018). The adoption approach minimizes conservation conflicts and has also been implemented on some Japanese islands with high biodiversity richness such as the Ogasawara Islands, Teuri Island, and the Amami Islands (Haboro City, 2019; Ministry of the Environment, 2018; Mitsui et al., 2018). ...
Feral cat management needs cooperation, including financial support, from a variety of stakeholders. We used a payment card approach to investigate the willingness of tourists to donate to non-lethal feral cat management at a potential natural World Heritage site on Amami Oshima Island in Japan. We found that more than 80% of tourists intended to donate funds to non-lethal feral cat management, and the mean willingness to donate was about USD $14 (1374.1 JPY). The rate of participation in the donation was higher than that found in previous studies, and the amount of intention to donate was large enough to support non-lethal cat management. Respondent income and attitudes toward lethal options affected intentions to donate. Those who valued the island farmland also had a higher intention to donate. Our findings provide useful information for the implementation of feral cat management strategies to conserve biodiversity while minimizing conflict.
... For example, Lohr and Lepczyk (2014) used social science tools to examine the perceptions and management preferences of Hawaiian residents, identified predictors of attitudes towards feral cats, and were able to recommend approaches that would be acceptable to a majority of residents. Mameno et al. (2017) likewise used social science approaches to examine the feral cat issue in Japan. Unfortunately, they found large gaps between the attitudes shown by cat owners and non-owners, making an agreed solution difficult. ...
Animal rights advocates and conservationists are often at odds, despite sharing important core values. We summarize previous work in this area and then review and update several examples of such conflicts, as well as a small number of cases of de facto cooperation resulting in positive outcomes for both groups. Particular attention is given to views of keeping animals captive in zoos and aquariums and to the treatment of feral cats as part of the debate over invasive species. We then summarize recent advances in both the philosophy of animal rights, in particular ecofeminism and from political theory, and the fields of conservation and environmental management. Our final section provides an analysis of the communication strategies used by both groups. We conclude that underlying such disagreements are not only philosophical differences but also self-selected access to divergent sources of information and interpretation. Limiting exposure to alternative views can strengthen group identity and increase conflict. As in other cases, modern media is particularly suitable for extreme views, penalizing moderate voices and attempts at communication and collaboration. However, adoption of insights from research into modern media can also lead to better communication across the persistent divide between scientists, managers, and animal rights advocates.
... Previous literature noted that public apathy toward IAS management represents one of the biggest barriers to public involvement. For example, people who underestimate IAS impacts in Japan tended not to support IAS management (Akiba et al. 2012;Mameno et al. 2017). Thus, public education and information provision could be effective in engaging more people (Bremner and Park 2007;Marzano et al. 2015). ...
... So far, many previous studies have addressed the public attitude concerning an IAS and the management thereof (Bremner and Park 2007;Mameno et al. 2017;Wald et al. 2018), as well as the estimation of social values from IAS management programs (Nunes and Van Den Bergh 2004;Roberts et al. 2018). However, little research has focused on how to encourage people to participate in IAS management activities. ...
... Recent tourism literature highlights that balancing conservation and the local economy through nature-based tourism is becoming increasingly important (Kubo et al. 2019). We demonstrated that this approach can even succeed in IAS management by sharing ecological knowledge with the public, as described in conservation literature (Akiba et al. 2012;Bremner and Park 2007;Dunn et al. 2018;Mameno et al. 2017;Marzano et al. 2015). ...
Invasive alien species management requires public participation to overcome a lack of human and financial resources in management; however, little is known about the demand for public participation in invasive alien species management. To address this knowledge gap, the present study evaluated demand for management of invasive carp, which is one of the worst but publicity invasive species worldwide. A choice experiment survey was conducted in Amami Oshima Island, Japan to quantify tourists’ demand for participating in invasive carp removal in nature-based tourism, and to evaluate the impact of ecological information provision on their preference. The results show most tourists would avoid participating in carp removal activities as a tour option without any financial discounts; however, over 35.2% of tourists were willing to work for carp removal, based on their own motivations. We also found that ecological information encouraged tourists to participate in tours that included carp removal activities. Incorporation of invasive alien species management in nature-based tourism can enhance the economic benefits for local tourism industries. Our findings indicate that tourists could play an important role in invasive alien species management by compensating for a lack of human and financial resources in management.
... Lethal control of invasive species often encounters public opposition (Nogales et al. 2004;McCarthy et al. 2013;Mameno et al. 2017), and is prohibited in some legal jurisdictions (Dias et al. 2017). Public opposition can potentially be reduced or avoided by understanding the social networks that drive community opinions and actions. ...
... Public support for predator management is also strongly influenced by the identity of the predator(s) in question, and cats are particularly contentious (Loss and Marra 2018). Although cats are among the most damaging invasive predators (Medina et al. 2011;Doherty et al. 2016), they are also important companion animals (Hall et al. 2016;Mameno et al. 2017;NZCAC 2017). Our discussions with people in the Amami Islands revealed widespread support for lethal control of the mongoose, but little or no support for lethal control of cats. ...
... The belief that pet cats or dogs do not kill wildlife is a common obstacle faced by proponents of companion animal management. Despite endemic animals being found in the diet of cats in the Amami Islands (Shionosaki et al. 2015), some island residents do not believe that cats kill these species (Mameno et al. 2017). Similar beliefs have been reported in other parts of the world (e.g. ...
Managing the impacts of invasive predators on islands is a priority for conserving global biodiversity. However, large islands and islands with substantial human settlement present particular challenges that can be broadly categorised as social and logistical. Around the world, managers concerned with island biodiversity are tackling increasingly ambitious projects, and some examples from Japan and New Zealand have been at the forefront. We used dialogues with managers, researchers, and community members, as well as our respective experience as wildlife researchers in Japan and New Zealand, to compare the challenges faced by wildlife managers in each country. We note similarities and differences between the two countries, and identify lessons from each that will help advance invasive species management on islands globally. Our observations from Japan and New Zealand show that considerable progress has been made in managing invasive predators on large, inhabited islands. Further progress will require more effective engagement with island residents to promote the goals of invasive species management, to find common ground, and to ensure that management is socially and culturally acceptable.
