Global sports industry holds untapped potential for wildlife conservation

A recently published article in the journal BioScience has revealed a surprising opportunity for conserving threatened species: sports teams and their branding.

The research, led by Dr. Ugo Arbieu of Université Paris-Saclay in France, analyzed 727 sporting organizations across 50 countries and 10 team sports. The authors found that "threatened species and species with a declining population trend are more represented than other species, with differences across regions."

Arbieu and colleagues explain that "given the ongoing global biodiversity crisis and the importance of sport in modern societies, representations of wildlife in the sport industry offer enormous potential for shifting social norms, raising funds and promoting biodiversity conservation initiatives within the industry itself."

Fans' strong affinity for sporting mascots and iconography may be particularly valuable for conservationists, say the authors. They note that "wild animal symbols are not just aesthetically appealing, they are selected because fans and customers are familiar with the species," creating deep emotional connections through fans' psychological connection to their favored teams.

These culturally important species "have the potential to act as flagship species," say the authors, with the potential to mobilize audiences that might otherwise be unconcerned with biodiversity conservation.

The authors suggest that sports organizations might even be of service in reducing the challenges of conservation conflict, such as those related to wolves: "sport organizations and their commercial partners could provide material assistance to livestock owners and shepherds (e.g., provision of equipment such as stakes, nets), promote the sheep industry (e.g., meat and dairy products, wool) and encourage their fan communities to engage with state agencies or nongovernmental organizations" to support conservation efforts.

The authors emphasize this represents "a critical first step toward integrating biodiversity conservation in the sustainability agenda of sport organizations."