A path analysis of carp biocontrol: effect of attitudes, norms, and emotion on acceptance

Pest carp species are a problem around the world, particularly in Australia where European carp (Cyprinus carpio) account for up to 90% of fish biomass in several major river systems. The Australian National Carp Control Plan investigated the feasibility of using a biological control agent (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3; CyHV-3) to control carp. CyHV-3 is a naturally occurring strain of carp herpesvirus, found in numerous countries, but is exotic to Australia. This study reports outcomes of social risk assessment, measuring public acceptability of the viral biocontrol, societal norms and attitudes towards carp and carp control, emotional reactions towards the use of CyHV-3 to control carp, and perceived virus efficacy. Analyses identified a very strong partially mediated path model, explaining a high proportion of variance in the acceptance of CyHV-3 as a viral biocontrol (R2 = .83). The model showed a strong influence of attitudes towards CyHV-3 (e.g. whether people saw the virus as good, wise, pleasant, safe and positive), personal attitudes towards carp control, and social norms on acceptance, mediated by perceived virus efficacy (R2 = .77), emotional disturbance (R2 = .69), and perceived humaneness of the virus (R2 = .47). The strongest direct predictors of acceptance were perceived virus efficacy and social norms. These results provide important insights into drivers of social acceptability and social risk perspectives associated with novel biocontrol, assisting biosecurity practitioners in their planning and decision making for the introduction of potential biological interventions.