The perception of animals amongst animal liberationists and hunters

To investigate animal liberationists' and hunters' perceptions of animals a repertory grid methodology and multidimensional scaling analysis were used to identify the dimensions of meaning used by 34 individuals from these two groups in their construal of 12 animal categories, selected so as to be representative of the animal kingdom. Five dimensions of meaning were identified, although their relative salience was found to differ between the two groups. Additionally, rated liking for the animals, as a function of the dimensions of meaning, was found to differ between the groups. The implications of the results and directions for future research in the context of environmental education and wildlife management are also discussed.