Assessing Risk Communication in the Pet and Aquarium Trade: An Analysis of Outreach and Engagement Efforts
WARC researchers evaluated whether outreach campaigns targeting pet owners are effectively reaching their desired audiences, namely pet owners who might unintentionally or purposefully release their pet into the wild.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The international pet and aquarium trade, and intentional or unintentional release of those organisms by individuals, has contributed to many fish, plant, mammal, bird, and mollusk species establishing in areas where they are not native. These releases may have been unintended, but they can have detrimental consequences to local ecosystems. Limited research has been conducted on this invasive species vector which makes communicating the risk of non-native pet release difficult. However, a wide range of outreach campaigns exist in an attempt to address both repercussions and alternative actions. The purpose of this project was to understand the collective goals of outreach campaigns across the United States related to preventing the release of non-native species found within the pet and aquarium trade. Additionally, we aimed to assess the scope of communication strategies used in relevant outreach campaigns to understand whether, and how, they are effectively intervening in an individual’s decision-making process to release a non-native pet.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: To better understand why an individual might own an animal, we searched scientific literature and summarized key motivations behind pet ownership. This view of pet owner motivation can help describe the variety of reasons a pet owner might make the decision to release their pet into the wild. We next identified existing outreach campaigns from around the United States targeting pet owners. Campaigns or education programs were considered for further evaluation if they had a focus on non-native pet release and if outreach materials (i.e., flyers, posters, brochures, social media posts, education materials) were used to communicate with their audience. Eight focal campaigns were selected to represent a wide geography and a variety of local, state, and federal agency programs, and non-government organizations (NGOs). Campaign affiliates from the eight focal campaigns were interviewed to further learn about campaign audiences, messaging, challenges, and monitoring efforts. Outreach materials were collected and analyzed from the focal campaigns. Additionally, web search engines were used in “incognito mode” to search for common terms/questions that relate to pet release. We then used a mixed method approach to collect and analyze the data. We used a combination of semi-structured interviews, content analysis, and statistical analysis of web search results. This combination of insights allowed us to crosswalk the common messaging used in outreach campaigns with theoretical and exhibited behavior of pet owners to ultimately evaluate whether campaigns are effectively reaching their desired audiences.
Future Steps: Upon project completion, a comprehensive summary report was shared with relevant stakeholders who were engaged throughout the project. An ArcGIS StoryMap was created to visually display our project goals, methods, and key findings. Campaign affiliates can refer to key finding as they design new campaigns and update existing ones.
WARC researchers evaluated whether outreach campaigns targeting pet owners are effectively reaching their desired audiences, namely pet owners who might unintentionally or purposefully release their pet into the wild.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The international pet and aquarium trade, and intentional or unintentional release of those organisms by individuals, has contributed to many fish, plant, mammal, bird, and mollusk species establishing in areas where they are not native. These releases may have been unintended, but they can have detrimental consequences to local ecosystems. Limited research has been conducted on this invasive species vector which makes communicating the risk of non-native pet release difficult. However, a wide range of outreach campaigns exist in an attempt to address both repercussions and alternative actions. The purpose of this project was to understand the collective goals of outreach campaigns across the United States related to preventing the release of non-native species found within the pet and aquarium trade. Additionally, we aimed to assess the scope of communication strategies used in relevant outreach campaigns to understand whether, and how, they are effectively intervening in an individual’s decision-making process to release a non-native pet.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: To better understand why an individual might own an animal, we searched scientific literature and summarized key motivations behind pet ownership. This view of pet owner motivation can help describe the variety of reasons a pet owner might make the decision to release their pet into the wild. We next identified existing outreach campaigns from around the United States targeting pet owners. Campaigns or education programs were considered for further evaluation if they had a focus on non-native pet release and if outreach materials (i.e., flyers, posters, brochures, social media posts, education materials) were used to communicate with their audience. Eight focal campaigns were selected to represent a wide geography and a variety of local, state, and federal agency programs, and non-government organizations (NGOs). Campaign affiliates from the eight focal campaigns were interviewed to further learn about campaign audiences, messaging, challenges, and monitoring efforts. Outreach materials were collected and analyzed from the focal campaigns. Additionally, web search engines were used in “incognito mode” to search for common terms/questions that relate to pet release. We then used a mixed method approach to collect and analyze the data. We used a combination of semi-structured interviews, content analysis, and statistical analysis of web search results. This combination of insights allowed us to crosswalk the common messaging used in outreach campaigns with theoretical and exhibited behavior of pet owners to ultimately evaluate whether campaigns are effectively reaching their desired audiences.
Future Steps: Upon project completion, a comprehensive summary report was shared with relevant stakeholders who were engaged throughout the project. An ArcGIS StoryMap was created to visually display our project goals, methods, and key findings. Campaign affiliates can refer to key finding as they design new campaigns and update existing ones.