Social norms shape wild bird hunting: A case study from southwest China

Traditional assumptions that wildlife hunting and consumption vary according to local economic development underlie most efforts to engage tropical forest communities in wildlife conservation, but these assumptions are insufficient for explaining many examples of non-economic and non-subsistence hunting around the world. Thus, there is a recognized need for conservation scientists/practitioners to understand the social and cultural factors governing wildlife hunting and consumption. We contribute to filling a gap in understanding how local culture and, specifically, social norms influence wildlife use and in what ways they could augment economic development models for explaining behavior. We studied illegal wild bird hunting among five villages of Indigenous Dai rubber farmers near Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in southwest China, a tropical biodiversity hotspot experiencing defaunation and persistent hunting pressure. Our analyses relied on interviews with nine key informants, four months of ethnographic observation, 120 anonymous self-administered questionnaires and 176 in-person structured surveys. We found that monetary income and nutritional subsistence could not explain most wild bird hunting and consumption. Instead, bird hunting was primarily predicted by cultural preferences for recreation and the desire to consume wild bird meat, and wild bird meat consumption was primarily predicted by cultural preferences for its taste. Social norms were central to the persistence of wild bird hunting; significantly predicting wild bird hunting, rewarding skilled hunters with social affirmation, discouraging cooperation with law enforcement, and discouraging efforts to reduce bird consumption. Cultural factors such as folk stories, village history, and ethnic identity undergird positive attitudes toward hunting. Our findings suggest that through its manifestation in social norms, local culture can influence wildlife hunting and consumption in ways unexplained by rational economic maximization. We discuss the implications of social norms for how common behavioral change strategies (i.e. legislation, governance, and community outreach) may or may not alter wildlife hunting and consumption. Importantly, our findings suggest that changing wildlife use necessarily involves cultural and social change, meaning that wildlife conservation practitioners must cautiously consider the cultural and social values associated with wildlife when deciding whether or how to engage communities in wildlife hunting interventions.