Investigating the welfare and conservation implications of alligator wrestling for American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).

ABSTRACT: Wildlife tourism attractions (WTA) are popular in the United States, but they may be harmful to the individual animals involved and we question whether they provide benefits to environmental conservation. Most research on the welfare and environmental implications of WTAs focuses on charismatic mammals, with few studies investigating these issues for reptiles. Here we examine alligator wrestling, including its impact on animal welfare and environmental conservation. Using a sample of 94 relevant YouTube videos of alligator wrestling in Florida representing 16 different venues, we coded the environmental and behavioral characteristics evident in each video. We then performed a content analysis of wrestlers' narration in a subset of 51 videos to analyze the environmental awareness and educat

SUBMITTER: Riordan C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7665580 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature