Understanding People’s Motivation to Contribute to Wildlife Disease Surveillance

Wildlife disease surveillance is an important tool for combating disease emergence and spread that may have negative ecological, social, and economic impacts, including prevention of new pandemics. This study aims to understand what motivates people in Sweden to voluntary perform the behaviour of reporting and submitting a wildlife carcass for wildlife disease surveillance. Six qualitative focus group interviews with people who repeatedly submit carcasses and reflexive thematic analysis are used to capture underlying motivation and experiences associated with performing the behaviour. Four main themes describing patterns of shared meaning emerged: Appreciation of nature as a given, Spread of contagious diseases as a threat, Curiosity about cause of death of the animal, and Contributing to something beyond oneself. By contextualising and interpreting these in relation to basic needs as outlined by the Self-Determination Theory, an increased understanding of different forms of motivation is achieved. The findings can be used to maintain engagement in the programme and attract new potential participants, thereby contributing to a sustainable development of human, animal, and ecosystem health.