The study of ethnozoology sheds light on the roles that animals have played in human societies throughout history, from their utilitarian functions to their cultural, religious, artistic, and philosophical significance.
Ethnozoology can be approached from various perspectives, such as ecological, cognitive, and symbolic, and it connects scientific methods to traditional systems of knowledge and cultural beliefs.
[4] The study of ethnozoology is important because policy makers and concerned citizens are too often left to be informed only by animal advocates or biomedical researchers, both of which are inherently biased.
Evidence of this can be seen in the ways that animal images may at times be expressing underlying racism: "the most damning testimony given by accused police at the Rodney King trial involved characterization of King as a 'gorilla'; during the Persian Gulf War Saddam Hussein was described in the American press as a 'rat'; and the actions of people in the Los Angeles riots were likened by the media commentators to 'packs of vicious animals'".
[4] The domestication process has been a chief concern for anthropologists, whose interests are in the history of human desire to understand animals, enslave them, and harness their power.
People share a basic way of comprehending the natural world based on common evolutionary history, and this foundation connects scientific biology with its historical roots in different cultures.
[8] The evolutionary perspective on human cognition and affect indicates some degree of universality in perception and decision-making with regard to the natural world and its fauna.