https://phys.org/news/2021-05-hunters.html
EXCERPTS: . . . In The Journal of Wildlife Management, researchers reported findings from a nationwide survey of college students' interest and participation in hunting. They found current, active hunters were more likely to be white, male and from rural areas, and to have family members who hunted. But they also found a group of potential hunters—with no hunting experience but an interest in trying it—who were more diverse in terms of gender, race and ethnicity.
[...] "For nearly 100 years, hunting and angling have combined to provide a majority of wildlife conservation funding in the United States," study co-author Lincoln Larson said. "Without people participating in these activities, our current conservation model won't work. By helping college students connect with public lands and wildlife, we can create a more sustainable source of funding into the future."
[...] Potential hunters were a more diverse group compared to active hunters. Forty-seven percent were female, and 38 percent identified as either Black or African-American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, American Indian or other.
Forty-three percent of potential hunters were from urban hometowns, and 74 percent did not have immediate family members who hunt. Seventy-nine percent were majoring in fields outside of agriculture or natural resources.
[...] Hunting for social reasons or for sport were more prominent motivations among active hunters. The biggest constraints they found among non-hunters, potential hunters and lapsed hunters was interest in other activities.
"One of our biggest takeaways is that many students, regardless of their background, support ecological conservation motivations for hunting. They care about controlling over-populated species and about improving personal and environmental health by eating local game meat," said the study's lead author Victoria Vayer, a former graduate student in parks, recreation and tourism management at NC State. "If we use messaging that relates to those motivations, instead of emphasizing contentious things like trophy hunting, we could reel in more potential hunters without eroding support among people who don't hunt." (MORE - details)
EXCERPTS: . . . In The Journal of Wildlife Management, researchers reported findings from a nationwide survey of college students' interest and participation in hunting. They found current, active hunters were more likely to be white, male and from rural areas, and to have family members who hunted. But they also found a group of potential hunters—with no hunting experience but an interest in trying it—who were more diverse in terms of gender, race and ethnicity.
[...] "For nearly 100 years, hunting and angling have combined to provide a majority of wildlife conservation funding in the United States," study co-author Lincoln Larson said. "Without people participating in these activities, our current conservation model won't work. By helping college students connect with public lands and wildlife, we can create a more sustainable source of funding into the future."
[...] Potential hunters were a more diverse group compared to active hunters. Forty-seven percent were female, and 38 percent identified as either Black or African-American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, American Indian or other.
Forty-three percent of potential hunters were from urban hometowns, and 74 percent did not have immediate family members who hunt. Seventy-nine percent were majoring in fields outside of agriculture or natural resources.
[...] Hunting for social reasons or for sport were more prominent motivations among active hunters. The biggest constraints they found among non-hunters, potential hunters and lapsed hunters was interest in other activities.
"One of our biggest takeaways is that many students, regardless of their background, support ecological conservation motivations for hunting. They care about controlling over-populated species and about improving personal and environmental health by eating local game meat," said the study's lead author Victoria Vayer, a former graduate student in parks, recreation and tourism management at NC State. "If we use messaging that relates to those motivations, instead of emphasizing contentious things like trophy hunting, we could reel in more potential hunters without eroding support among people who don't hunt." (MORE - details)