Attitudes toward animals among Norwegian children and adolescents: Speciespreferences

Five hundred and sixty two children and adolescents, aged between 9 and 15 years, from one urban and three rural areas in southern Norway, completed a questionnaire in which they expressed their degree of preference for vario us animal species. The dog, cat, horse, and rabbit were the favourite speci es, while the crow worm, bee, and spider were the least liked. Girls were m ore positive toward horses, and were more pet-orientated than boys, while m ore boys than girls preferred wild animals. Younger respondents liked anima ls more than did 15-year-olds, with a few exceptions: the wolf, beat; and w hale. Urban respondents liked animals more than rural respondents did, a fi nding which applied to the large carnivores in particular Interests in wild life decreased with increasing age, and few respondents wished to save ecol ogically-significant species (ants, bees, ladybirds) from extinction.