A test of communication in changing harvest behaviors of deer hunters

Abstract

Harvest by recreational hunters is a regularly used method to directly influence game populations in public wildlife management throughout the United States, but effectiveness of the method is dependent upon hunters' willingness and ability to harvest at rates to achieve objectives. Communication is a technique to influence license-buying and harvest behaviors with an implicit assumption that hunters will follow through and achieve desired harvests. Using the theory of planned behavior, we evaluated a communication campaign with exposure and reference groups for its short-term efficacy at influencing recreational hunters' intentions to harvest antlerless white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the context of wildlife disease management and to follow through with additional antlerless deer harvest. Although previously reported research findings indicated our communication campaign increased intentions of hunters to participate in antlerless deer hunting when measured immediately post-campaign exposure, we could not detect a difference in subsequent harvest between exposure and reference groups in a 1-year post-campaign exposure evaluation. Hunters exposed to the communication campaign intended to harvest more deer, yet in the end, they did not follow through with those intentions. Communication plays an important role in wildlife management. Nonetheless, insights into what managers can reasonably expect to achieve through communication lead to more realistic objectives. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.KEY WORDS antlerless deer harvest, behavior change, bovine tuberculosis, Michigan, Mycobacterium bovis, whitetailed deer, wildlife disease.

Management of on-farm risk to livestock from bovine tuberculosis in Michigan, USA, white-tailed deer: Predictions from a spatially-explicit stochastic model

“…In contrast to agricultural producers and agencies, hunters and wildlife agencies are rarely enthusiastic about pursuing the additional measures likely to be required to bring about the stated policy goal of bTB eradication (Rudolph et al, 2006;Ramsey et al, 2014). In addition, changing hunter demographics (Riley et al, 2003;Winkler and Warnke, 2013) and deer management trends (O'Brien et al, 2012), limits to agency ability to influence hunter"s actions (Rudolph and Riley, 2014;Triezenberg et al, 2016), and concerns about establishment of bTB in feral swine (Gortazar et al, 2015b) which occur in the endemic area may further complicate control efforts.…”

“…Similarly, application of local controls would seemingly be a less objectionable policy option owing to the substantial cost and human resource savings garnered from having to apply controls over an area only one third the size of the entire core outbreak area. Despite these advantages, longstanding objections to any agency culling of deer (Dorn and Mertig, 2005;O'Brien et al, 2011b) and challenges to further increasing hunter harvest (Ramsey et al, 2014;Rudolph and Riley, 2014;Triezenberg et al, 2016) make the likelihood of effectively applying such controls over even a limited area far from certain.…”

Legal regulation of supplementary cervid feeding facing chronic wasting disease

“…There is little doubt that the feeding ban should be implemented in areas with CWD, but then compliance and regulation enforcement are important issues to consider (Rudolph and Riley ). Information campaigns may have some effect on changing hunter behavior in efforts to control disease (Muter et al ), but the media may overemphasize scientific uncertainty (Heberlein and Stedman ), and the effects of campaigns to change behavior are not always strong (Triezenberg et al , ). New antler restrictions were enforceable and adhered to by hunters despite the low social acceptance of a regulation change (Wallingford et al ).…”

Persistent Spillback of Bovine Tuberculosis From White-Tailed Deer to Cattle in Michigan, USA: Status, Strategies, and Needs

“…There is potential that had managers been more empowered or convincing and decision makers more stalwart the bTB situation in NELP may be quite different today. Despite extensive surveys examining strategies used to improve stakeholder appreciation of the situation with bTB in deer ( 98 – 101 ), public and political support has been too little to enable the actions necessary to improve the situation ( 101 ). To make better progress going forward, more emphasis must be placed on the human dimensions aspects of the issue by more effectively engaging the diversity of stakeholders associated with this deer-bTB-agricultural industry issue.…”

“…), it is a new tool that could be used to aid ongoing and future efforts associated with bTB. Although previous efforts to engage and motivate hunters to actively participate in non-traditional deer management actions (i.e., increased harvest of antlerless deer) failed over the long term, significant changes such as providing extended or alternative seasons and increasing attention on new hunters may improve participation ( 101 ). Unfortunately, common trends such as managing for more, larger, and more mature (i.e., older) male deer on the landscape, primarily through imposing antler point restrictions, does not align well with disease management strategies focused on removing more males with an emphasis on older age classes ( 10 ).…”