Communicating information about the psychology of a wild carnivore, the red fox, influences perceived attitudinal changes but not overall tolerance in people

Studies on wild animal psychology are growing in popularity due to the important role they play in understanding how wildlife is responding to human-driven environmental changes. However, communicating psychological information to the general public could undermine specific conservation objectives by encouraging greater persecution of a species (e.g., “bold” predators). Through a national-level survey (n = 1,364 participants), we tested whether communicating information about the boldness and problem-solving abilities of a wild carnivore, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), influences people’s tolerance of them. Half of participants were given information on fox psychology (either a video or a press release about fox boldness and problem-solving), the other half were given content related to basic fox ecology (either a video or a press release about fox habitat use). Afterwards, all participants completed the same 24-item questionnaire evaluating their tolerance of foxes. Although the participants given information about fox psychology were more likely to report a perceived attitude change due to the content they were given, this effect was relatively small and did not impact people’s tolerance of foxes more than ecological information. We encourage further research to understand how communicating different types of information might influence, either positively or negatively, people’s tolerance of a species as more studies on wild animal psychology are published, and the public’s awareness of how animal psychology relates to human-wildlife interactions becomes more widespread.