Predicting Hunting Participation in Response to Chronic Wasting Disease in Four States

Abstract

This article examines how factors related and unrelated to chronic wasting disease (CWD) influenced hunters to stop hunting deer. Data were obtained from a survey of resident and nonresident deer hunters in Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (n = 3,519). Hunters were presented with six hypothetical scenarios depicting increasing CWD prevalence levels and human impact (e.g., human death), and asked if they would continue or stop hunting deer in the state. A series of logistic regression models examined the influence of four dimensions of predictor variables: (a) prevalence, (b) human impact, (c) perceived risks from CWD, and (d) location of hunting participation (i.e., state, residency). Participation in deer hunting in these four states will decrease substantially if CWD prevalence increases dramatically. If high prevalence is combined with human death from CWD, the decline is even greater. Human impact and perceived risks had the largest effect on hunter behavior.

Keywords:

• chronic wasting disease
• hunting
• perceived risk

We would like to thank Dr. Mark Needham for comments on earlier drafts of this article.