Data from: Exploring media representation of the exotic pet trade, with a focus on welfare: Taxonomic, framing, and language biases in peer-reviewed publications and newspaper articles
Data files
Jun 26, 2025 version files 779.59 KB
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README.md
3.90 KB
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s2_file_ds_peer_reviewed_articles.csv
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s3_file_ds_newspaper_article_details.V2.xls
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Abstract
The trade in non-domesticated animals for pets (exotics) is a global industry with considerable implications for a range of taxa and stakeholders. The scale of the trade means it receives coverage in both popular and scientific media, and some narratives may receive more attention than others. As these media play an important role in shaping public opinion, policy, and legislation we should consider and acknowledge biases and language use when reporting on the exotic pet trade. We use 320 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 191 newspaper articles on the trade between 2001 and 2020 to investigate how the trade is framed, focused, and communicated within and between media-types, paying particular attention to animal welfare as a framing. Our results suggest consistent variation in reporting of the trade within and between media-types, with aspects of welfare being underrepresented in peer-reviewed articles, while it was the most common focus of newspaper articles. If the exotic pet trade is to develop into a more ethical, sustainable sector, then reassessing our narratives, addressing knowledge gaps, and identifying how communication styles can lead to these behaviours change outcomes will be essential parts of the process.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m0cfxppf6
Description of the data and file structure
Details and actual publications from newspaper articles and peer-reviewed papers.
Files and variables
File: s2_file_ds_peer_reviewed_articles.csv
Description:
Variables
- authors: List of author names
- first.author.h.index: h-index of the first author taken from Scopus.
- title: Title of research paper
- year: Year of publication
- source.title: Journal Name
- journal.impact.score: Impact factor of the journal (taken from Scopus).
- volume: Volume of journal
- issue: Issue of journal
- page.start: Page number of start of article
- page.end: Page number of end of article
- times.cited.in.database: Number of time the paper has been cited.
- doi: DOI of the article
- link: Link to the article in the database
- abstract: Text of the article abstract
- author.keywords: Article keywords
- correspondence.address: Address of lead author
- database: Which database was the article found in via search.
- taxon.amphibian: dummy taxon variable
- taxon.bird:dummy taxon variable
- taxon.fish.crus: dummy taxon variable
- taxon.mammal: dummy taxon variable
- taxon.reptile: dummy taxon variable
- framing.welfare: dummy framing variable
- framing.conservation:dummy framing variable
- framing.invasion:dummy framing variable
- framing.disease:dummy framing variable
- framing.economy:dummy framing variable
NAs in this file denote fields that were originally empty.
File: s3_file_ds_newspaper_article_details.xls
Description: Details of newspaper articles included in the study.
Variables
- pub_date - date of article publication
- pub_title - title of the newspaper in which the article was published.
- doc_URL - link to the article in proquest database.
NAs in this file denote fields that were originally empty.
Files uploaded to Zenodo are the supplementary files:
- S1 Table: Details of terms used for peer-reviewed scientific literature search
- S2 Table: Details of ‘pet trade’ and related terms for secondary screening of articles to ensure a focus on the exotic pet trade. Note: some words are incomplete to allow detection of variants in R, e.g., “aquari” could return “aquarium” or “aquaria
- S3 Table: Details of each framing category and related terms. Note: some words are incomplete to allow detection of variants in R, e.g., “financ” could return “finance” or “financially”.
- S4 Table: Details of taxonomic foci and related terms. Note: Fish and Crustacean have been combined into a single category, as they are often traded together.
- S5 Table: Raw count of peer-reviewed papers in each framing category and combinations thereof.
- S6 Table: Example quotations for a selection of framings and nrc emotion categories from peer-reviewed publication abstracts and newspaper articles. Examples of framing categories were selected on the basis of the frequency with which those categories were used and their centrality to the analyses within this overview. Examples of emotion categories were selected on the basis of their frequency of use and differences between media types.
- Figure S1: chart representing identification of studies via database
- Figure S2 and S3: graph representing the count of published papers against years
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- n/a
Data was derived from the following sources:
- These data were collected from peer reviewed articles and newspaper articles as outlined in the associated text. They were processed using key word searches and thematic analyses to place them in framing, and where appropriate, taxonomic categories.