Research traces American wildlife values to European colonization

Data from 18,477 people in 33 countries shows how colonial legacies continue to shape modern views on wildlife.

How people view and treat wild animals can vary dramatically from one part of the world to another. In the first international study of wildlife values, a research team, led by Colorado State University, found a distinct difference between Latin American views toward wildlife and those in the United States and Canada – and traced the divergence in views to European colonization centuries ago.

The study shows that Latin America regards wildlife as part of the social community, deserving of rights like humans – a value the researchers call “mutualism” – while the United States and Canada largely view wildlife as a resource for use by humans – a value they label “domination.” These views align with the colonizing countries that established institutions in the Western Hemisphere: Britain in North America and Spain and Portugal in Latin America. Britain and northern Europe were more domination oriented than southern Europe, which favored mutualism. 

This research, published May 15 in Nature Sustainability, reinforces past studies showing that colonizing institutions can help explain current cultural differences between North and South America.

(Adapted from a release by Colorado State University)

Paper citation:

Manfredo M.J.,  Teel T.L., Ghasemi B., Tran T., Arbieu U., Berl R.E.W., Biggs D., Boitani L., Ciucci P., Delibes-Mateos M., Di Minin E., Dressel Sl, Gamborg C., Glikman J.A., Hill C., Jacobs M., JensenF.S., Kavčič I.,  Keller R., Marchini S., Nanni S., Olszańska A., Salerno J., Sandström C., Shockley K., Smith D., von Ruschkowski E. (2026: Enduring cultural legacies affect Euro-American wildlife values. Nature Sustainability. DOI: 10. 1038/s41893-026-01825-8