Conservation of wildlife depends upon people’s attitudes toward the various animal species. For example, conservation of invertebrates may be difficult due to fear and dislike of this animal group. We measured the prevalence of self-reported fear of spiders in a representative sample of the Norwegian population. Nine per cent answered ‘very much afraid’, 16 % ‘somewhat afraid’ and 75 % ‘not afraid’. The rate of self-reported fear (‘somewhat’ and ‘very much’) was higher among women (32 %) than among men (14 %). The elderly expressed a lower level of fear than did younger age groups, and respondents with more education reported less fear than did those with less education. Self-reported fear was at a lower level in rural than in urban areas, and higher in Central and Northern Norway than in other regions. These differences may be due to differences between groups in experience with spiders.

The recent increase in the grey wolf Canis lupus population in Norway has led to an intense debate about the management of this species. A telephone survey of fear-related attitudes toward the wolf was conducted in four counties in south eastern Norway. 52% claimed that they not at all, or to a small degree, would become concerned about their own or their family’s safety when being outdoors if wolves were living in their area, while 31% said they clearly would become more concerned. 36% of the sample expressed that they definitely would become more careful when walking in the fields and forest, 25% partly agreed to this, while 38% said they would not become more careful. 25% said they were very much afraid of wolves, 30% were somewhat afraid, while 43% were not afraid at all. Generally, women, the elderly, persons with short education, and rural inhabitants expressed more negative, fear-related attitudes than did other sociodemographic groups. Parents with young children expressed more fear of wolves compared to equally old parents without children at home, but this finding applied only to residents in the city. People who had a dog in their household were less afraid of wolves than those who did not have a dog; this applied only to rural residents. In general, the level of self-reported fear and concern equals what has been found in Sweden and Finland, but the attitudes found in Norwegian rural areas were more negative than attitudes of rural residents in Sweden. The results are discussed on the background of evolutionary/genetic, cultural, and political influences.

Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) hunting has long traditions in Norway. It is often assumed that hunters are more consumptively and less conservation oriented than other recreational groups. Considering the large numbers of hunters and the popularity of the sport it is more likely that hunters value both consumptive and appreciative aspects and represent diversity in their concern for the environment. In this study we surveyed 2,717 ptarmigan hunters to examine environmental orientation, and the effects of environmental orientation on different management regulations. Results showed that environmental concern is a discriminating factor for how the hunters rate hunting goals, harvest regulation measures, and acceptance of protecting parts of the bird populations in refuges. Increasing environmental concern is positively correlated with higher acceptance of regulatory management actions aimed at preserving the resource. Socio-demographic variables had limited effect on the relationship between environmental concern and attitudes toward management. Small game management needs to balance consumptive and appreciative experience dimensions, and degree of environmental orientation may be an indicator of acceptance of management actions.

Objectives: The main objective was to study the influences of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors on a popular Norwegian outdoor activity: walking in the woods. Design: Data from the large Young in Oslo 2006 (YiO 2006) youth survey is used to investigate the relationship between ethnic and class background and gender in relation to hiking in the woods. In the representative survey sample, 11 529 adolescent respondents aged 16 to 19 were asked how often they participated in hiking in the woods during the season. Results: Analyses show that more girls than boys are active hikers and that fewer descendents from non-western immigrants and working-class youngsters are active compared to ethnic Norwegian and middle-class adolescents, respectively. Furthermore, cultural aspects of class seem to be more important than economic ones. A logistic regression analysis shows that the relationship between country of origin and hiking is significantly reduced when class measures are introduced into the model, which implies that the initial difference between ethnic minorities and ethnic Norwegians to some extent can be considered to be a class phenomenon. Conclusion: Norwegian authorities express great concern over health issues among the large group of non-western descendents in Norway, pointing to the Nordic tradition of outdoor recreation as one means of being physically active. This paper concludes that in the effort to recruit ‘immigrant' youngsters to outdoor activities, one should keep in mind that a large proportion of the minority population also belongs to the working classes.

Hunting participation is declining in many Western countries. We surveyed 1,113 persons in Norway who had completed the mandatory hunting education program but not continued to hunt in order to examine reasons for desertion. Key barriers included lack of knowledge, associated expenses, and a lack of people to hunt with. Measures that may increase participation include improved knowledge about hunting practices and weapon handling, hunting opportunities, how to treat harvested game, as well as support from family and friends. We recommend the following measures to increase recruitment: a mentor arrangement where experienced hunters take the responsibility for assisting new hunters through their first season; a practical follow-up course in shooting, weapons handling, and field skills; and improved information about hunting opportunities that are accessible locally and regionally.

Rural tourism, especially through second-home development is increasing rapidly in much of Europe, the USA and Canada offering new economic opportunities for local communities, but also challenges related to environmental impacts and differing perceptions within communities about appropriate development paths. This study examines associations between the environmental attitudes of residents and attitudes towards second-home development in two regions in Southern Norway, with community attachment and economic dependency as additional predictors. Ecocentrism was found to have a strong negative effect on attitudes towards tourism development, while, in contrast to previous findings, community attachment did not have significant effects. Economic dependency is significantly related to attitudes towards development; both ecocentrism and economic dependency are mediated by other variables, such as expected impacts and benefits. The findings are important in planning to reduce potential conflicts.

Background: Recent government initiatives within the NHS have seen care becoming increasingly target driven. In 2000, the NHS announced a target of 4 h between arrival and discharge or admission for patients in the emergency department (ED); a target of 90% seen within 4 h was set for March 2004 and 98% for January 2005. However, the impact of targets (positive and negative), and particularly those that are based on a time-frame, have not been extensively studied and concerns have been raised about the unintended consequences for patients that might arise from stringent time-related targets. These include the possibility of clinicians making rushed decisions without complete information, resulting in missed diagnoses, unnecessary hospitalisations or revisits to the ED for the same problem, and most recently, of patients queuing in ambulances before admission to the ED. Objective: To evaluate the effect of the 4-h target on patient care and outcomes. Design: Retrospective analysis of hospital records data. Setting: Large urban ED in the north of England. Participants: Anonymised patient-level data from 560 000 new patient episodes between April 2000 and February 2006. Main Outcome Measures: Time spent in the ED, mortality, admission rate, one-day hospitalisations, repeat visits to the ED and investigations performed for periods before, during and after the 4-h target. Methods: Interrupted time-series analysis was used to examine changes in patient outcomes during the study period. Results: Median time to see a clinician fell from before the target was introduced to after it was established (53 to 37 minutes, p,0.001). Median total ED time also fell (119 to 93 minutess, p,0.001). Overall, the mean number of investigations per patient rose (1.10 to 1.29, p,0.001), as did the proportion of patients being admitted (15.4% to 16.9%, p,0.001). However, there was a decrease in the proportion of patients who did not wait (5.7% to 3.6%, p,0.001). There was no change in ED mortality (p = 0.45). Conclusions: The introduction of time targets into the emergency care setting has been associated with changes in patient care within the ED. Overall, patients are seen more quickly, spend less time in the ED, are more likely to be admitted to hospital and more likely to have an investigation during their stay. Although this may be true for the majority of patients, further work is needed to see whether these changes benefit all patient groups.

Many factors influence human attitudes towards large carnivores. In our study we explore different factors that affect attitudes towards four such species, i.e. wolverines Gulo gulo, lynx Lynx lynx, brown bears Ursus arctos and wolves Canis lupus. We examined attitudes through a representative sample of the Norwegian population. By using 12 independent variables chosen for this study, we were able to explain around 15-45% of the variance in attitudes towards the four species. In general, people displayed more negative attitudes towards wolves and bears than towards lynx and wolverines. However, they were more positive towards increasing the small populations of the first two species than the relatively large populations of the last two. The results showed that 34-44% of the respondents reacted negatively to the question 'What do you think should be done about the size of the carnivore population?'. On the other hand, 73-87% reacted positively to the question 'Do these species have a right to exist in Norway?'. To the question 'How far do you want the carnivore species from your home?', 41-66% answered > 10 km. The most important variables explaining negative attitudes towards all the large carnivore species regarded the concern of the respondents for their own and their family's safety. People became more negative with age; those who were afraid of the carnivores were in general more negative towards them, and those who experienced financial loss (i.e. farmers) by having large carnivores in their vicinity expressed negative attitudes. On the other hand, the excitement of seeing large carnivores in their natural environment had a positive influence on attitude. People from larger communities were in general more positive, whereas those who thought they had the species in their vicinity were more negative. Big-game hunters frequently showed negative attitudes, whereas those with higher levels of education tended to be more positive. Our results indicate that attitudes towards large carnivores are complex. However, people are in general more negative towards wolves and bears, which must be taken into account in conservation programmes.

We examined the relationship between self-reported fear of large carnivores and the demographic characteristics of villagers living in a rural district adjacent to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Data were obtained from 593 respondents living in 8 villages. The intensity of verbally expressed attitudes was heavily dependent on whether the attitude object was of a general or a specific category. Level of self-reported fear was much higher for specific species of large carnivores than for broad verbal categories like concern over safety due to carnivores in general. Women were more afraid than men. The elderly expressed lower fear than other age groups, but only in response to the general category question. Level of fear was positively correlated with educational level. For almost all questions, villagers living further away from the national park expressed more fear than villagers living closer to the park. Fear can influence attitudes toward wildlife. Understanding whether encounters with wildlife are experienced as positive or negative can help in forming management strategies that are effective in reducing human–wildlife conflicts.

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that exposure to, and activities in, nature have beneficial effects on human health. Since a majority of people in many countries live in urban areas, availability and use of urban green areas is of increasing importance to public health. In the present study we measured urban residents’ (Trondheim, Norway) recreational preferences for urban park landscapes varying in vegetation density, and aimed at an identification of background variables and environmental value orientations that we hypothesised to influence such preferences. The results showed that moderately dense scenes received the highest preference ratings. Socio-demographic variables and value orientations predicted preferences for moderate to densely vegetated scenes: A curvi-linear effect of age of respondents was found, with subjects in their mid-40s expressing a higher preference for moderate to dense vegetation, compared to younger and older subjects. Preference for moderate to dense vegetation also increased as the educational levels of the respondents increased. The preference was lower among people living in apartment blocks, relative to those living in detached houses. Of attitudinal and value-related variables, interest in wildlife, and pro-ecological value orientation (measured with the NEP scale) predicted preference for urban parks with moderate and dense vegetation. The existence of preference for relatively dense vegetation in urban parks in segments of the population has consequences for the designing of urban parks in Norway.

Wildlife management policies are often based on expert perceptions of the ecological importance of certain species and poorly informed perceptions of how public attitudes toward management are formed. Little is known about why preferences vary greatly and how this affects support for management actions. This paper explores preferences for a range of wildlife species among a sample of the rural population adjacent to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We also examine the degree of acceptance for alternative management interventions when potentially dangerous animals pose different levels of problems to human beings, and the extent to which these attitudes are related to species preferences. Gender has a significant effect on species preferences. Men like most species better than women. Age has no significant effect, but level of education affects preference level for some species. Species preferences have a positive effect on support for management intervention when dangerous animals cause small or moderate problems to humans, i.e. there is a higher degree of acceptance of problems caused by animals that are well liked. In situations where human life is threatened, species preferences have no effect on preferred management actions. Appreciation of animals is a combination of functional, consumptive and cultural dimensions, and there is no simple link between species preferences and attitudes toward management actions. The local context and concrete experience with wildlife encounters is more important for shaping normative beliefs like attitudes towards management actions than global wildlife attitudes.

In a survey among a representative sample of the Norwegian population (N = 2449), the associations between environmental attitudes and interest in 15 outdoor recreation activities were assessed. Environmental attitudes were measured by a short version of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. Results suggest that most Norwegians agree with the environmental values tapped by the NEP scale. NEP scores were higher among women than among men and they were negatively associated with age. Rural inhabitants expressed lower NEP scores than did urban respondents, but educational level did not affect NEP scale scores. Multiple regression models explained only limited parts of the variance in respondents' NEP score and interests in outdoor recreation activities. The NEP scale yielded different regression coefficients across the 15 activities. However, the scale did contribute significantly to the prediction of interest in ten out of 15 activities. The results show that ‘appreciative’ and ‘consumptive’ activities do not constitute homogenous categories that relate to environmental attitudes in opposing ways. For example, various types of fishing and various types of hunting show different associations with environmental attitudes as measured by the NEP scale. The combined picture of the regression models suggests a complex relationship between recreational interests and the predictor variables. To obtain better explanations, other variables and more complex models will most likely be needed

A survey on attitudes toward large carnivores was conducted in a representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 3134). People were asked about the acceptability of carnivores living in remote wilderness, close to where people live, killing livestock, killing pets, or threatening humans. Large differences in acceptability appeared across the five situations. Wolves and bears were less acceptable than lynx and wolverines when observed close to where people live. Negative associations were found between acceptability and lack of personal control, economic loss, and respondents' age. Acceptability was higher among males than among females, and higher among urban than among rural residents. The results showed that general measures of attitudes alone toward large carnivores were of limited value in wildlife management. The situational and social specificity of these attitudes should be given more attention.

We surveyed residents' attitudes toward common urban animals and their participation in animal-oriented activities in the city of Trondheim, Norway. The results show that people most like small birds, squirrels, butterflies, hedgehogs, ducks, geese and dogs, and dislike bats, snails, invertebrate species, mice and rats. Birds of prey, foxes, cats, bumblebees, magpies, pigeons, badgers, gulls, grasshoppers and crows received a neutral ranking. Generally, females more than males liked the popular and neutral species, while males more than females liked the less-preferred animals. A negative association was found between age of respondents and preferences for birds of prey, dogs, cats, badgers, bats, mice and rats. This relation was positive for some invertebrate species, and small and medium-sized birds. A positive correlation was found between educational level of the respondents and preference scores for most of the species listed. Watching television programs about nature (59% often/very often) and watching/feeding birds (41%) were the most frequently reported animal-related activities. When walking in the neighborhood, important animal-related motives for doing this were to observe birds (42%) and to observe mammals (34%). Interest in bird observation and television programs about nature increased with increasing age. Few respondents reported experiencing problems with wildlife, but dogs and cats were more often (36%) considered to create problems. These results indicate that wildlife plays an important role in shaping urban residents' daily experiences, and that both animals and their habitats should have a higher priority in urban planning and management. (c) 2004 International Society for Anthrozoology