Abstract
For the purpose of preventing the occurrence of new invasive species issues in "Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, Northern Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island", which are designated as an UNESCO World Heritage, questionnaire surveys on pets including exotics was conducted. The survey targeting high school students was conducted online from November 2022 to January 2023 for approximately two months. The survey targeting elderly residents was carried out on paper from January to March 2023 for about 1.5 months. The number of respondents of the high school students was 490 (response rate: 32.7 %) of which pet owners accounted for 35.1 %, and was almost half the number of non-pet owners (64.9 %). The number of respondents of the elderly residents was 423 (response rate: 61.3 %) of which the response number of pet owners and non-pet owners are nearly equal. Dogs, cats, and fish were popular as types of pet among both groups. Amphibians and reptiles were slightly more common among high school students. Regarding "the proper rearing practices" which is important to prevent new invasive species issues, the percentage of respondents who know and follow it was higher among elderly residents (72.8 %) than high school students (64.5 %). Conversely, the percentage of respondents who does not know and follow it was lower among elderly residents (17.4 %) compared to high school students (35.5 %). These results indicate that it is necessary to raise awareness especially among high school students. To promote public awareness of proper pet rearing, the efforts to compile these findings into documents and distribute, organize outreach activities such as lectures and seminars will be needed.
