The Applicability of Wildlife Value Orientations Scales to a Muslim Student Sample in Malaysia

This article addresses the applicability of quantitative wildlife valueorientation scales in Muslim students in Malaysia. As Malaysian cultureis deeply influenced by Islam ideology, this article presents acase for addressing the cross-cultural applicability of the scales. Thecurrent wildlife value orientation scales were reliable—all Cronbach’salphas ≥ .65—and had predictive validity—8 to 14% of variance ofacceptability of lethal control was explained. Yet, both reliability andpredictive validity were of lesser magnitude than figures in previousWestern studies. Especially the hunting beliefs scale did not reflectbasic thinking about wildlife in our sample, and our data suggest twodifferent hunting dimensions—consequences of hunting for wildlifeand human opportunities for hunting. For future cross-cultural comparisonsof wildlife value orientations, amendment of the scales tobetter reflect salient beliefs in non-Western nations is recommended