Social-cultural context characteristics of ethnicities on wildlife interaction and consumption in the northern provinces of Thailand

Abstract

This qualitative study was implemented with sixty-five respondents from ten ethnic groups across four communities in Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces of Thailand from November 2020 to January 2021. A total of 45 respondents (69.2 %) participated in focus group discussions (FGDs), while 20 respondents (30.8 %) were involved in-depth interviews (IDIs) to determine the characteristics of wildlife interactions, consumption, and the usage of traditional medicines (TMs), with particular emphasis on the influence of socio-cultural contexts, ethnic backgrounds, the impacts of COVID-19, and law enforcement regulations on these interaction activities. The findings revealed that most interaction activities involving hunting wild animals were for personal or family consumption, crop protection, and the use of animal parts to treat diseases and their symptoms. These findings should be disseminated to local and national health and environmental protection authorities to develop communication campaigns aimed at enhancing proper wildlife interaction and consumption, particularly by promoting appropriate wildlife contact literacy among rural ethnic communities residing in forested and border areas.