A citizen science trial to assess perception of wild penguin welfare

Abstract

Wild penguins are facing increased threats to their populations and their welfare as a consequence of human activities.
Understanding the perception of animal welfare is essential to identify ethical concerns related to the negative impact of
anthropogenic factors on wild species and to guide conservation efforts that reflect societal values. Since penguin conservation is
of general interest, we examined the human dimension of welfare assessment across a range of interest groups concerned with
penguins, seabird biology and wildlife conservation. We provided participants with a Penguin Welfare Assessment Tool (PWAT) based
on the five domains model. The PWAT supports consideration of the impact of four physical aspects on welfare-relevant mental
states. Bibliometric analysis of keywords from 347 scientific articles indicated that penguins around the world face five main types
(themes) of anthropogenic factors and we then developed five hypothetical scenarios, each related to one theme. Seventy-five
participants scored the overall impact of the events described in the scenarios on penguin welfare as negative using the PWAT.
Participants rated short-duration, high-intensity events (i.e. being trapped in a ghost fishing net) as having a significantly more
severe impact on penguin welfare than low-intensity, long-duration events (P