Invasive non-native species (INS) are one of the key reasons for a biodiversity loss worldwide with the entire biological invasion process being mainly human-caused. When discussing the issue of INS, both the ecological and economical side as well as the social component are important. The delay or problems in managing INS can be caused by the fact that some invasive or potentially invasive species can be beneficial to some interest groups or that their removal is not in line with the principles and beliefs of individuals. To be more successful in preventing non-native species from spreading and in managing and controlling INS, it is important that the general public cooperates and understands the problem, as it has happened before that strong opposition from some groups led to action to be taken too late. The aim of this quantitative research with 228 secondary school pupils, using a questionnaire, was to determine the attitude of Slovene secondary school pupils towards eradication and various ways of controlling invasive and potentially invasive non-native species. This would lead to determining their attitude towards this issue, contribute towards a more specific and effective promoting of awareness and consequently towards a faster response to new cases of non-native species. The results show that the majority of pupils support less aggressive and – according to their opinion – more “humane” forms of eradicating invasive non-native animals and mostly do not support killing adult specimens. In relation to eradication of invasive non-native plants, they support mechanical methods and do not support chemical ones. More than half of the pupils do not support eradicating INS that have a positive effect on humans. It cannot be claimed that pupils who know INS or have heard of them express more support for eradication of all INS; there is a difference between INS of animals and INS of plants. As expected, there is also a difference in the degree of support of eradicating INS of animals and INS of plants, with pupils showing less interest in eradicating animals, especially vertebrate animals.
|