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Articles

Sociodemographic analysis of hunters’ preferences: a Greek Hunting Club perspective

Pages 389-396 | Received 11 Aug 2014, Accepted 29 Sep 2014, Published online: 27 Oct 2014
 

Abstract

Knowledge of hunters’ behaviour is critical for the proper management of hunting. The preferences and sociodemographic characteristics of a Greek hunting community, the Megara Hunting Club, were therefore investigated through a questionnaire survey. Club members were mostly less than 50 years old with a family, mainly self-employed, farmers or private employees of secondary education and mostly having medium or higher income. All income classes preferred local over national licences, although the lower class did so in higher proportions. Megara hunters pursued the local small game, for which they also searched elsewhere. They were strongly attached to hunting as a sport, except for the poorest who hunted for subsistence. Furthermore, local hunters spent annually on average 58.3 days and € 1764.6, with the middle-aged, highly educated or wealthier hunters being the most dedicated to hunting in terms of both time and money. Considering the ongoing Greek debt crisis, an increase in the demand of local game and a shift towards subsistence hunting is predicted. Research offered important new insights for the practice of hunting and could be used as an aid for the design and application of informed policy and management plans in Greece and also in other comparable countries.

Medžiotojų elgesio tyrimai yra svarbūs medžioklės ūkio valdymui. Megara medžiotojų klubo (Graikija) narių sociodemografiniai duomenys ir prioritetai buvo tiriami anketinės apklausos būdu. Dauguma klubo narių buvo jaunesni nei 50 metų, turėjo šeimą, savo verslą, ūkininkavo arba dirbo privačiose įmonėse, buvo vidurinio išsilavinimo, gaudavo vidutines arba didesnes nei vidutines pajamas. Visi medžiotojai (ypač gaunantys mažesnes pajamas) rinkosi medžioklės licenzijas, leidžiančias medžioti tik klubo teritorijoje. Klubo nariai dažniausiai medžiojo smulkiąją fauną (žvėris ir paukščius). Daugumai jų medžioklė buvo pramoga, išskyrus mažiausias pajamas gaunančius narius, kurie medžiojo pragyvenimui. Per metus klubo narys medžiojo vidutiniškai 58,3 dienų ir išleido 1764,6 eurų. Daugiausia laiko ir pinigų medžioklei skyrė vidutinio amžiaus, išsilavinę, turtingesni medžiotojai. Prognozuojama, kad dėl finansinės krizės Graikijoje bus daugiau medžiojama klubų teritorijose gyvenančių žvėrių ir paukščių, bei medžiojama pragyvenimui. Šio tyrimo išvados gali būti taikomos kuriant ir įgyvendinant medžioklės valdymo planus Graikijoje ir kitose šalyse.

Acknowledgements

I thank the Megara Hunting Club Administration for permitting the conduct of this study and access to their archives. I especially extend my gratitude to D. Giannakaris, G. Michalakis and S. Stratouri. I also thank I. Kardatos, K. Pippis and V. Vasileiou for providing valuable information on local game and habitats. I also thank M. Kazlauskas and an anonymous reviewer whose useful comments and suggestions helped greatly in improving the manuscript.

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