The "Bambi effect" is an objection against the killing of animals that are perceived as "cute" or "adorable", such as deer, while there may be little or no objection to the suffering of animals that are perceived as somehow repulsive or less than desirable, such as pigs or other woodland creatures. Deer blind polluted by ALF

Referring to a form of purported

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

, the term is inspired by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's 1942 animated film '' Bambi'', where an emotional high point is the death of the lead character's mother at the hands of the film's antagonist, a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

known only as " Man".

Effects

Some commentators have credited this purported effect with increasing public awareness of the dangers of

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, for instance in the case of the fate of

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...

s after the ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill, and in the public interest in scaring birds off airfields in non-lethal ways. In the case of

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

, perceived cuteness may help thwart efforts to eradicate non-native intruders, such as the white fallow deer in

Point Reyes Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applied ...

, California. The effect is also cited as the anthropomorphic quality of modern cinema: most people in modern Western civilization are not familiar with wildlife, other than "through TV or cinema, where fuzzy little critters discuss romance, self-determination and loyalty like pals over a cup of coffee", which has led to influences on public policy and the image of businesses cast in movies as polluting or otherwise harming the environment. The effect was also cited in the events following a record snowfall in the U.S. state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in 2007, when food for mule deer, pronghorns, and

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

became so scarce that they began to starve; the Colorado Department of Wildlife was inundated with requests and offers to help the animals from citizens, and ended up spending almost $2 million feeding the hungry wildlife. Among some

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

s, the Bambi effect (and in general, Walt Disney's anthropomorphic characters) is credited with fueling the

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

movement;

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

s use the term to describe customers' lack of interest in, for instance, whole fish: "It's the Bambi effect – ustomersdon't want to see eyes looking at them". The ’Bambi’ Effect has caused people to fight against organizations that manage wildlife. However, their intervention can often interfere with an ecosystem’s circle of life and thus their efforts become counterproductive. For example, this phenomenon can promote people to create organizations like The Smokey Bear Campaign. This Campaign decreased the number of fires but consequently led to an unexpected change in ecosystem. The ‘Bambi’ effect is backed up by a study (Wilks, 2008) which found that to help the more aggressive and unfriendly wildlife become more loved and see improvements in their environments there should be cuter and more innocent cartoons created and marketed for them.

Effects

References

Further reading