Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats
Abstract Background Fruit bats play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal, and their conservation is important to maintain the productivity of some crops and natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of fruit bats by orc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00541-9 |
| _version_ | 1818234962819678208 |
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| author | Attaullah Shahzad Ali Arshad Javid Muhammad Imran Tahir Mehmood Khan Kendra Phelps Kevin J. Olival |
| author_facet | Attaullah Shahzad Ali Arshad Javid Muhammad Imran Tahir Mehmood Khan Kendra Phelps Kevin J. Olival |
| author_sort | Attaullah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Fruit bats play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal, and their conservation is important to maintain the productivity of some crops and natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of fruit bats by orchard farmers and agricultural communities in Pakistan. Methods The present survey was conducted in two districts (i.e. Sheikhupura and Malakand districts) within Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces based on the higher number of fruit growing areas and bat roosting sites. A total of 200 (100 per district) close-ended questionnaires with 53 questions were administered to randomly selected respondents within the selected communities associated with fruit orchards, including orchard owners, laborers, and members of the surrounding community. Each questionnaire was divided into seven sections (i.e., demographic information, environmental and public health effects of bats, knowledge about bats, perception and control of bats, non-lethal methods adopted to control bats, and different myths about bats). Results A majority of respondents (59%, n = 118) mis-classified bats as birds instead of mammals despite more than 84% reporting that they have observed bats. Nearly 71.5% of orchard farmers perceived that their fruits are contaminated by bats during consumption, and a majority believe that bats destroy orchards (62.5%) and are responsible for spreading disease. Mythology about bats was ambiguous, as 49% of those surveyed did not perceived bats to bring good luck (49%), and 50% did not perceived them to be bad omens either. Most respondents have never killed a bat (68%) nor would they kill a bat if given the opportunity (95%). Regarding the control of bats, the greatest percentage of respondents strongly disagree with shooting bats (36%) and strongly agree with leaving bats alone (42.5%). Conclusions This study provides a better understanding of the sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge, attitude and perception of bats from fruit orchard owners, labourers and local people. We recommend educational interventions for targeted groups in the community, highlighting the ecosystem services and importance of bat conservation to improve people’s current knowledge regarding the role of bats and reduce direct persecution against bats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:46:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-368e79dceff540d19f387f4a10b93f53 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1746-4269 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:46:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-368e79dceff540d19f387f4a10b93f532022-12-22T00:25:26ZengBMCJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine1746-42692022-06-0118111010.1186/s13002-022-00541-9Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with batsAttaullah0Shahzad Ali1Arshad Javid2Muhammad Imran3Tahir Mehmood Khan4Kendra Phelps5Kevin J. Olival6Wildlife Epidemiology and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory (One Health Research Group), Discipline of Zoology, Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, LahoreWildlife Epidemiology and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory (One Health Research Group), Discipline of Zoology, Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, LahoreDepartment of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, LahoreInstitute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary and Animal SciencesInstitute of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Veterinary and Animal SciencesEcoHealth AllianceEcoHealth AllianceAbstract Background Fruit bats play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal, and their conservation is important to maintain the productivity of some crops and natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of fruit bats by orchard farmers and agricultural communities in Pakistan. Methods The present survey was conducted in two districts (i.e. Sheikhupura and Malakand districts) within Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces based on the higher number of fruit growing areas and bat roosting sites. A total of 200 (100 per district) close-ended questionnaires with 53 questions were administered to randomly selected respondents within the selected communities associated with fruit orchards, including orchard owners, laborers, and members of the surrounding community. Each questionnaire was divided into seven sections (i.e., demographic information, environmental and public health effects of bats, knowledge about bats, perception and control of bats, non-lethal methods adopted to control bats, and different myths about bats). Results A majority of respondents (59%, n = 118) mis-classified bats as birds instead of mammals despite more than 84% reporting that they have observed bats. Nearly 71.5% of orchard farmers perceived that their fruits are contaminated by bats during consumption, and a majority believe that bats destroy orchards (62.5%) and are responsible for spreading disease. Mythology about bats was ambiguous, as 49% of those surveyed did not perceived bats to bring good luck (49%), and 50% did not perceived them to be bad omens either. Most respondents have never killed a bat (68%) nor would they kill a bat if given the opportunity (95%). Regarding the control of bats, the greatest percentage of respondents strongly disagree with shooting bats (36%) and strongly agree with leaving bats alone (42.5%). Conclusions This study provides a better understanding of the sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge, attitude and perception of bats from fruit orchard owners, labourers and local people. We recommend educational interventions for targeted groups in the community, highlighting the ecosystem services and importance of bat conservation to improve people’s current knowledge regarding the role of bats and reduce direct persecution against bats.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00541-9Community knowledgeFruit batsBats-human conflictsBats conservationPakistan |
| spellingShingle | Attaullah Shahzad Ali Arshad Javid Muhammad Imran Tahir Mehmood Khan Kendra Phelps Kevin J. Olival Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Community knowledge Fruit bats Bats-human conflicts Bats conservation Pakistan |
| title | Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats |
| title_full | Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats |
| title_short | Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes by residents in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in connection with bats |
| title_sort | knowledge perceptions and attitudes by residents in punjab and khyber pakhtunkhwa pakistan in connection with bats |
| topic | Community knowledge Fruit bats Bats-human conflicts Bats conservation Pakistan |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00541-9 |
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