The "Bambi effect" is an objection to 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, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's 1942 animated film ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

'', 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 practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

known only as "

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

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 harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, 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 Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

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 is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

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

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

Point Reyes Point Reyes ( , meaning 'Cape of the Kings') is a prominent landform and popular tourist destination on the Pacific coast of Marin County in Northern California. 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 Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...

are not familiar with wildlife, other than "through TV or cinema, where fuzzy little critters discuss romance,

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

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 is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in 2007, when food for

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ante ...

s, and elk 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 wholesale ...

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 Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

movement;

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

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 Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service in the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history to ...

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

See also

References

Further reading