Hunter Concerns and Intention to Hunt in Forested Areas Affected by Wildlife Disease

Deer hunting is a major forest-based recreation activity in the US South. However, the recent discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) threatens deer hunting in the region. Stakeholders are interested in understanding how hunters perceive the risk and change their hunting behavior. This study found a significant change in hunters’ concerns after the first deer season since the discovery of CWD in Tennessee, USA. Results also showed that hunters’ short- and long-term intentions to hunt deer in the region were positively related to previous experience of hunting in CWD-affected areas, beliefs in the effectiveness of herd reduction to control CWD, concerns regarding potential decline in deer quality and changes in hunting regulations due to CWD, and trust in wildlife agency action. Hunters who hunt on public land and were concerned with deer and human health risk were less likely to hunt in the CWD region. These results are useful in understanding hunter behavior in response to wildlife disease and identifying variables that may help project immediate as well as long-term change in hunting demand in affected regions. Study Implications As two-thirds of forestlands in the USA are under private ownership and public hunting lands are limited or crowded in many regions, deer hunting occurs mostly on private lands. Managers of private and public forestlands that provide recreation access for hunting benefit from a better understanding of how wildlife diseases affect user perception and demand for deer hunting on their lands. One such disease issue that has threatened the hunting industry in the nation is chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer. Results from this study inform on how hunters perceive the risk of disease, how their relative tolerance changes over time, and what factors determine their intention to hunt in forests with diseased deer. These findings are useful in understanding hunter’s behavior in response to wildlife disease in forest lands and highlight variables that may determine hunting demand in affected regions both in the short- and long-term.