Social acceptablility of the Trojan Female Technique for the biological control of pests
A report on focus group work to identify drivers of the social acceptability of pest management approaches in general, and the acceptability of the Trojan Female Technique specifically.
Summary
This report describes the findings from social research conducted as part of a research program on theTrojan Female Technique (TFT), a new method of biological pest control being developed by Landcare Research and other partners. This report presents the result of qualitative research into the drivers of social acceptability of pest population control technologies, and more specifically, the social acceptability of the TFT to New Zealanders. It builds on previous research by the authors into the social acceptability of actual and potential pest control technologies. The current research involved a series of eight focus groups held in various parts of New Zealand in August 2014. The groups were:
- The general public, divided into three groups: rural residents, urban males, and urban females;
- Maori;
- Community-based conservation interests;
- Community-based animal welfare and animal rights interests;
- Scientists; and
- Biosecurity specialists and pest managers.
The key attributes required of an acceptable pest control, noted across all or most of the eight focus groups were that it should:
- Be humane;
- Be safe for humans and non-target species;
- Be specific to the target species;
- Be effective at controlling the target species;
- Be affordable or cost-efficient;
- Generate additional benefits;
- Be tested or well researched or proven; and
- Not involve visible death, and not be messy.
The TFT received in-principle support across all groups. Several concerns were raised about how it would work in practice, but all of them could be addressed. As a participant in the rural public group said:
… just about all of the concerns that were raised immediately when you broached the idea were around the periphery and the management of side risks, rather than the core activity of what was going on. That signals to me that the core activity is socially acceptable so long as risks around it are managed.
Issues raised that need further research include the ecological effects of removing many individuals of a species and the potential irrerversibility and uncontrollability of TFT organisms once released.
Many comments were based on misapprehensions about the TFT, suggesting that a comprehensive communications program is needed. Such a program would play an education role, answer questions raised by the participants in our focus groups (which are the kinds of questions any interested member of the public might ask), and manage any unrealistic expectations of the TFT. To maintain public trust, any such communications will need to be straightforward and truthful.
This research was qualitative, so it can describe the range of views held about the TFT by the public and interest groups. To quantify how widely the various views are held would require a survey.