Ethical Ideology and Public Attitudes towards Marine Life in China

This study investigates public attitudes in Chinese society towards marine life and determines the roles of basic demographics and ethical ideology in shaping these attitudes. An online survey was conducted in 22 mainland coastal cities on the basis of a questionnaire regarding demographical information, the Ethical Position Questionnaire ( EPQ ), and an adapted marine life version of the Animal Attitude Scale ( AAS ). Results demonstrate that Chinese women are more concerned about marine life protection than men. Ethical idealism has positive effects while ethical relativism has negative effects on public attitudes towards marine life. Chinese citizens consider using marine life for food as acceptable, but less acceptable to use their skin or fur. Moreover, ethical ideology is found to have no influence upon public attitudes towards using marine life in medical experiments.