No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Hunting for Trophies: Online Hunting Photographs Reveal Achievement Satisfaction with Large and Dangerous Prey
Abstract
Despite its manifold implications, insight into what satisfactions hunters derive from trophy hunting has not been thoroughly investigated. We used a novel method to assess how common satisfaction might be from harvesting animals under different achievement contexts. We scored smile types—signals of emotion and satisfaction—in 2,791 online hunting photographs. We show that the odds of true “pleasure” smiles are greater when hunters pose: (a) with versus without prey, (b) with large versus small prey and, (c) with carnivores versus herbivores (among older men). We emerge with a generalizable achievement-oriented hypothesis to propose that the prospect of displaying large and/or dangerous prey at least in part underlies the behavior of many contemporary hunters. Given that achievement was also likely important among ancestral hunter-gatherers and remains so in contemporary cultural and commercial marketing contexts, management might benefit by increased attention to achievement satisfaction among hunters.
... First, trophy keepsakes may directly enhance a person's sense of agency, which strongly contributes to their self-esteem (Wojciszke, Baryla, Parzuchowski, Szymkow, & Abele, 2011). Attracting a trophy partner resembles harvesting large or dangerous "trophy prey" (Child & Darimont, 2015), as both serve achievement-oriented satisfaction rather than affiliative satisfaction. In both cases, the aim is to win competitive displays among others, and in both cases the more the better; the number of trophies is meant to verify the skills and worth of the hunter . ...
... Accordingly, trophy keepsakes from past romantic relationships may be more important for men than for women, because these objects confirm men's efficacy in mating, and maintain or increase their sense of virility and achievement. Similar masculine-identity-related motives may be important for the overrepresentation of men in sport hunting (Child & Darimont, 2015). ...
... In other words, trophy keepsakes may be viewed as a coping resource that the collector uses in times of need. Finally, expanding the analogy between trophy prey (Child & Darimont, 2015) and narcissistic trophies from love conquests, it is worth investigating whether to increase a narcissistic individual's selfesteem requires an audience that admires their trophies or whether it is sufficient to use trophies as cues for their solitary reminiscence of their romantic successes. ...
The common psychological core in grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is a sense of oneself being special and better than others. It has been shown that this need may be satisfied through relationships with attractive and successful partners. We propose that after dissolving romantic relationships, both grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic individuals may want to keep inanimate objects associated with their ex-partners as symbols of their mating success (i.e., trophies). Consistent with this hypothesis, the results of two cross-sectional correlational studies (N = 330 and N = 414) showed that while grandiose and vulnerable narcissism are not related to the nostalgic value of keepsakes from past relationships, they predict the perception of these objects as trophies. The effect holds when controlled for gender and self-esteem. We further discuss the mechanism by which “trophy keepsakes” may bolster positive self-views in both grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic individuals.
... This gap persists despite carnivores being subject to high kill rates and associated with conservation concern , competition with humans over food and space (Treves and Karanth 2003), and controversy among human stakeholders (Kellert et al. 1996). Additionally, carnivores possess ecological and behavioral characteristics that generally make them more difficult to kill than ungulates, which could influence associated hunter satisfaction levels (Child and Darimont 2015). ...
... Addressing these limitations, recent research has studied hunter satisfactions using an innovative data source: social media. For example, Child and Darimont (2015) investigated multiple satisfactions of trophy hunters by analyzing facial expressions of hunters when posing with their prey, using photos collected from online forums and other websites. Their results indicated that the odds of true "pleasure" smiles are greater when hunters pose 1) with versus without prey; 2) with large versus small prey; and 3) with carnivore versus ungulate targets (among older men). ...
... Their results indicated that the odds of true "pleasure" smiles are greater when hunters pose 1) with versus without prey; 2) with large versus small prey; and 3) with carnivore versus ungulate targets (among older men). Child and Darimont (2015) offered a generalizable achievement-oriented hypothesis, proposing that the prospect of displaying achievement associated with killing large and dangerous prey at least in part underlies the behavior of many contemporary hunters. ...
Understanding hunter satisfactions can lead to improved wildlife management policy and practice. Whereas previous work has suggested that hunters often seek multiple satisfactions (achievement, affiliation, appreciation), little is known about how satisfactions might vary with target species. Additionally, past research has mostly gathered data using interviews and surveys, which might limit scope as well as introduce strategic bias for potentially provocative subjects such as hunting. To address these gaps, we analyzed data from online hunting forums, which provide an open-access source of peer-to-peer discussion that is geographically and taxonomically broad. We used directed qualitative content analysis to analyze hunting narratives for satisfactions by coding 2,864 phrases across 455 hunting “stories,” and compared patterns of dominant (most frequent) and multiple satisfactions between target species type (ungulates and carnivores) using forums from 3 regions: British Columbia, Canada; Texas, USA; and North America-wide. We found that achievement was the dominant satisfaction in 81% of ungulate and 86% of carnivore stories. Appreciation was nearly absent as a dominant satisfaction in carnivore stories. We found that 62% of ungulate and 53% of carnivore stories had multiple satisfactions present, indicating that appreciation and affiliation play important secondary satisfaction roles even when achievement is dominant. If these data are broadly representative of hunters on a larger scale, management policy instruments that ignore achievement may not evoke change in hunter behavior, particularly involving carnivore target species. Despite limitations associated with online forums (e.g., nonrepresentative of all hunters), they provide a new and valuable resource for wildlife management research.
... Virtue theorists assume that a flourishing human life involves developing and maintaining good relationships both with other human beings in civil society and with the animals and natural environments on which human civilizations depend. Furthermore, Child and Darimont (2015) describe sport hunters' satisfaction as achievement-oriented, which increased with large versus small prey, with versus without prey, and carnivore versus herbivore prey. In addition, sport hunting is a signaling behavior involving show-off and display, amplified by social media, to achieve social status and prestige (Darimont et al., 2017). ...
... However, in contemporary conservation, there are many more interest groups with claims on wildlife and its habitats. Sport hunting, against viable alternative activities from a conservation perspective, sustains the use of natural resources for the extirpation of a population, either through overhunting or through conversion of habitat to alternative uses (Child & Darimont, 2015). ...
How sport hunting influences wildlife conservation in Uganda within the Lake Mburo Landscape.
... In all the three species of mahseers studied; the bigger the fish, the higher the Social Engagement (SE) it received. Previous studies focusing on terrestrial hunting (Child and Darimont 2015) and spearfishing (Sbragaglia et al. 2020) revealed a similar positive association between the SE and emotional signals with the catch size. Catching a bigger mahseer may be seen by the public as a 'tough job done well' and therefore trigger appreciation for the masculinity of the angler (Bull 2009), which in turn translates into a higher number of views, likes and comments (Child and Darimont 2015). ...
... Previous studies focusing on terrestrial hunting (Child and Darimont 2015) and spearfishing (Sbragaglia et al. 2020) revealed a similar positive association between the SE and emotional signals with the catch size. Catching a bigger mahseer may be seen by the public as a 'tough job done well' and therefore trigger appreciation for the masculinity of the angler (Bull 2009), which in turn translates into a higher number of views, likes and comments (Child and Darimont 2015). The comments received by the angling videos of all three focal species of mahseer were related to anglers, angling locations or techniques, and included a significantly high proportion of positive mentions. ...
Megafish mahseers popularly known as the 'tiger of rivers', are the dream catch of recreational anglers in India. The present study explored the Recreational Angling (RA) videos of five mahseer species Tor khudree (deccan mahseer), T. putitora (golden mahseer), T. remadevii (humpback mahseer), T. mosal (mosal mahseer) and Neolissochilus hexagonolepis (chocolate mahseer) recorded from India and uploaded on the social media platform YouTube from January 2010 to October 2022. We did not come across any RA videos of T. mosal and T. remadevii on YouTube hence further analyses were carried out on the remaining three focal species. No seasonality was observed in the frequency of RA videos uploaded on YouTube and T. khudree attracted the highest number of views per video. Catch and Release (C&R), an ethical RA practice was noticeably low in the case of N. hexagonolepis. The size of the catch was found to be positively associated with the social engagement received by the RA videos of all the three mahseer species focused. Angler and angling-related remarks and words associated with the emotion 'trust' dominated the comments received by the videos. The results are discussed in light of the trending discourses on developing social media data as a complementary tool for monitoring and managing RA and conserving fish.
... The taking of the largest organism, whether fish or terrestrial wildlife, satisfies a portion of the human psyche far transcending ancestral demands for subsistence and rooted in a complex conglomeration of human self-image, social standing, and status (Shiffman et al. 2014;Child and Darimont 2015;Darimont et al. 2017). Many aspects of trophy hunting and fishing remain poorly investigated (Beattie 2020). ...
... Subtle details in photographs may also provide insight into trophy seeking. Child and Darimont (2015) found that the likelihood of true "pleasure" smiles (called "Duchenne smiles"; Ekman et al. 1990) as opposed to "false" or more perfunctory smiles was greater with large as opposed to small prey. Duchenne smile responses to dangerous carnivores versus nonthreatening species, even if both are large, may differ (Mihalik et al. 2019). ...
In this paper, we use world record Paddlefish Polyodon spathula catches to exemplify the origins and management of trophy fisheries and the human motivations involved within a continually compressing timescape of advancing fish finding, harvest capability, and communication and information technologies. Conservation of long‐lived species such as Paddlefish, sturgeons (Acipenseridae), or other large species currently challenged by ecological change or habitat losses may be further challenged by the expansion of harvest power through advances in fishing technology in pursuit of trophy fish. Technological evolution may outpace the adaptive abilities of managers to safeguard these fisheries with sensible harvest regulations—often a multi‐year, bureaucratic process. Managers must maintain focus on understanding the ecological nuances of these species while proactively developing resilient harvest management frameworks capable of responding to such challenges in a meaningful and timely way. Our paper may be useful for other fisheries professionals involved in management of long‐lived, trophy fishes and fisheries.
... Nevertheless, the culture of hunting remains male dominant, and consumerism plays an important role in maintaining hunting's masculine aura (Holt & Thompson, 2004;Littlefield & Ozanne, 2011). Media is a particularly significant tool for upholding masculinity in hunting (Child & Darimont, 2015;Kalof & Fitzgerald, 2003;Simon, 2019). To be sure, "One hundred million USD are spent annually on hunting books, magazines, and DVDs" (US Department of the Interior, 2011 cited in Simon, 2019, p. 154). ...
... To be sure, "One hundred million USD are spent annually on hunting books, magazines, and DVDs" (US Department of the Interior, 2011 cited in Simon, 2019, p. 154). The images displayed predominantly feature white (presumably cisgender) men in poses that symbolically reflect dominating or possessing the animals they have killed as trophies (Child & Darimont, 2015;Kaloff & Fitzgerald, 2003;Simon, 2019). However, Kelly and Rule (2013) found that narratives in hunting magazines reflect mixed discourses of both "love" and "kill" and that many hunters may simultaneously respect and care for wildlife while also desiring to conquer it, demonstrating that conflicting values often exist in hunting. ...
Understanding dynamics around the neoliberalization of conservation is an important direction within current scholarly research. In this paper, we contribute to these discussions by examining how companies within the hunting industry engage in practices that are reflective of neoliberal environmentality. We conduct a Foucaul-dian discourse analysis of four companies' websites to interrogate what discourses of technology companies promote to hunters and anglers, how they mobilize these discourses, and how these discourses function to reproduce wildlife conservation-minded subjects and maintain particular beliefs, identities, and practices about both wildlife conservation and conservationists that uphold state conservation objectives. Through our discourse analysis, we find that companies within the hunting industry construct hunter/angler wildlife conservation-minded subjects by educating consumers, legitimizing trophy animals, using identity politics, positioning technology as a conservation(ist's) tool, and through wearing camouflage. Subsequently, we argue these companies present a view of wildlife conservation that problematically privileges neoliberal values, trophy animals, and exclusionary politics, illustrating how discourses of technology function to obscure such issues. Examinations of environmentality must therefore more explicitly consider discursive absences and other hidden aspects of conservation as well as potential consequences of failing to address oversights.
... Furthermore, Child and Darimont (2015) analysed 2,791 online hunting photographs looking for signals of emotion and satisfaction in hunters' smiles. Their analysis revealed that trophy hunters' satisfaction was achievement-oriented, which increased by large versus small prey, with versus without prey and carnivore versus herbivore prey (Child & Darimont, 2015). ...
... Furthermore, Child and Darimont (2015) analysed 2,791 online hunting photographs looking for signals of emotion and satisfaction in hunters' smiles. Their analysis revealed that trophy hunters' satisfaction was achievement-oriented, which increased by large versus small prey, with versus without prey and carnivore versus herbivore prey (Child & Darimont, 2015). Another piece of literature, again based on observations of social media, argued that trophy hunting is a signalling behaviour involving show-off and display, amplified by social media, to achieve social status and prestige (Darimont et al., 2017). ...
1. Ethical concerns are at the heart of the ongoing debate on trophy hunting; however, so far, most studies have addressed the issue from a single ethical perspective. These studies, approaching the subject from different ethical perspectives, have reached different conclusions. For instance, those who support trophy hunting as a conservation strategy usually adopt a utilitarian perspective, while those who adopt a deontological perspective usually oppose it.
2. The analysis presented in this paper challenges the ethical justification of trophy hunting based on a utilitarian perspective, and it also suggests that trophy hunting is problematic from the perspectives of both deontology and virtue theory.
3. This paper supports a version of Bryan Norton's ‘convergence hypothesis’ (Norton, 1991). Although holism and anthropocentrism in environmental ethics are usually presented as fundamentally opposed views, Norton argued that their conclusions for policy converge, at least when a sufficiently broad and long-range view of human interests are considered.
4. Analogously, this paper proposes that, regarding trophy hunting, the implications of three major traditional perspectives in ethics (i.e. utilitarianism, deontology and virtue theory) may converge in opposition to the practice of trophy hunting.
5. The final section of this paper recommends some ways authorities and policymakers can address these ethical concerns and presents a view of the future.
... A study conducted with online terrestrial hunting photographs similarly revealed that prey size influenced emotional signals (i.e. smiles) of hunters; true smiles were 1.5 times greater when posing with large prey compared to small prey (Child and Darimont, 2015). This can be related to an activityspecific achievement satisfaction of hunters for harvesting a large and rare prey (Potter et al., 1973;Child and Darimont, 2015). ...
... smiles) of hunters; true smiles were 1.5 times greater when posing with large prey compared to small prey (Child and Darimont, 2015). This can be related to an activityspecific achievement satisfaction of hunters for harvesting a large and rare prey (Potter et al., 1973;Child and Darimont, 2015). Our results regarding spearfishers are in agreement with this view, but relate to social appreciation, rather than individual satisfaction as shown by the fisher himself or herself. ...
We applied data mining on YouTube videos to better understand recreational fisheries targeting common dentex (Dentex dentex), an iconic species of Mediterranean fisheries. In Italy alone, from 2010 to 2016 spearfishers posted 1051 videos compared to 692 videos posted by anglers. The upload pattern of spearfishing videos followed a seasonal pattern with peaks in July, a trend not found for anglers. The average mass of the fish declared in angling videos (6.4 kg) was significantly larger than the one in spearfishing videos (4.5 kg). Videos posted by spear-fishers received significantly more likes and comments than those posted by anglers. Content analysis suggested that the differences in engagement can be related to appreciation of successful spearfishers necessitating relevant personal qualities for catching D. dentex. We also found that the mass of the fish positively predicted social engagement as well as the degree of positive evaluation only in spearfishing videos. This could be caused by the generally smaller odds of catching large D. dentex by spearfishing. Our case study demonstrates that data mining on YouTube can be a powerful tool to provide complementary data on controversial and data-poor aspects of recreational fisheries and contribute to understanding the social dimensions of recreational fishers.
... Researchers categorized affiliation (with family or friends), appreciation (of nature), and achievement (of goals related to the activity) as three broad dimensions related to hunter satisfaction (Decker, Brown, Driver, & Brown, 1987). Other research differentiated between activitygeneral and activity-specific experiences (Child & Darimont, 2015;Hendee, 1974;Schroeder et al., 2017Schroeder et al., , 2018 and success-related aspects of hunting (Brunke & Hunt, 2007;Decker, Brown, & Gutierrez, 1980;Gigliotti, 2000). ...
... Other studies, however, have suggested that achievement-oriented and harvest-related experiences may relate to satisfaction far more than other (i.e., appreciative or affiliation) motivations because of the relative ease in satisfying the general outcomes of the hunting experience (Gigliotti, 2000;Miller & Graefe, 2001;Schroeder et al., 2006;Wynveen et al., 2005). Research has not clarified how harvest influences hunting satisfaction across different game species, characteristics within a species, participant populations, and specific hunting activities and situations (Child & Darimont, 2015;Frey, Conover, Borgo, & Messmer, 2003;Gigliotti, 2000;Heberlein & Kuentzel, 2002). Some research has suggested that achievement may be more, or less, important to hunters when characteristics of the setting or targeted game (i.e., large size, low density) make the probability of harvest low (Hayslette, Armstrong, & Mirarchi, 2001;Potter, Hendee, & Clark, 1973;Vaske et al., 1986). ...
We present methods derived from customer satisfaction research that clarify factors influential to the satisfaction of recreation participants. We conducted mail surveys of Minnesota wild turkey hunters to explore differences between the explicit (i.e., stated) and implicit (i.e., derived from the relationship to satisfaction) importance of recreation experience preferences. Revised importance performance analysis, importance grid analysis, and penalty reward contrast analysis revealed differences between the explicit and implicit importance of recreation experiences and clarified how activity success may influence the relationship between experiences and satisfaction. We found some support for our hypothesis that experiences related to achievement (of goals for an activity) may more strongly relate to satisfaction than experiences related to appreciation (of nature) or affiliation (with family and friends). Our results emphasized the importance of activity-specific experiences over activity-general experiences for both successful and unsuccessful hunters and exposed a “motivation matching” process related to harvest success.
... A study conducted with online terrestrial hunting photographs similarly revealed that prey size influenced emotional signals (i.e. smiles) of hunters; true smiles were 1.5 times greater when posing with large prey compared to small prey (Child and Darimont, 2015). This can be related to an activityspecific achievement satisfaction of hunters for harvesting a large and rare prey (Potter et al., 1973;Child and Darimont, 2015). ...
... smiles) of hunters; true smiles were 1.5 times greater when posing with large prey compared to small prey (Child and Darimont, 2015). This can be related to an activityspecific achievement satisfaction of hunters for harvesting a large and rare prey (Potter et al., 1973;Child and Darimont, 2015). Our results regarding spearfishers are in agreement with this view, but relate to social appreciation, rather than individual satisfaction as shown by the fisher himself or herself. ...
Data about recreational fisheries are scarce in many areas of the world. In the absence of monitoring data collected in situ, alternative data sources, such as digital applications and social media platforms, have the potential to produce valuable insights. Yet, the potential of social media for drawing insights about recreational fisheries is still underexplored. In this study, we applied data mining on YouTube videos to better understand recreational fisheries targeting common dentex (Dentex dentex), an iconic species of Mediterranean recreational fisheries. We chose this model species because of ongoing controversies about the relative impact of recreational angling and recreational spearfishing on its conservation status. In Italy alone, from 2010 to 2016 recreational spearfishers posted 1051 videos compared to 692 videos posted by recreational anglers. Only the upload pattern of spearfishing videos followed a seasonal pattern with peaks in July, suggesting seasonality of spearfishing catches of D. dentex – a trend not found for anglers. The average mass of the fish declared in recreational angling videos (6.43 kg) was significantly larger than the one in spearfishing videos (4.50 kg). Videos posted by recreational spearfishers received significantly more likes and comments than those posted by recreational anglers, suggesting that the social engagement among recreational spearfishers was stronger than in anglers. We also found that the mass of the fish positively predicted social engagement in recreational spearfishing videos, but not in videos posted by recreational anglers. This could be caused by the generally smaller odds of catching large D. dentex by spearfishing, possibly explaining why posting videos with particularly large specimen triggered larger social engagement by recreational spearfishers. Our case study demonstrates that data mining on YouTube can be a powerful tool to provide complementary data on controversial and data-poor aspects of recreational fisheries.
... Trophy hunting generally refers to the practice of hunting large charismatic nonhuman animals (hereafter, animals) for recreational purposes, where their body parts are taken as a representation of success or memorial (e.g. Child & Darimont, 2015;Darimont et al., 2017). Although trophy hunting occurs in both developed and developing countries, the focus of the trophy hunting debate in the conservation literature has been on the practice undertaken by western hunters in developing countries, where it has been claimed to provide irreplaceable benefits for conservation (e.g. ...
Trophy hunting is one of the most contentious issues in recent biodiversity conservation discourse, eliciting opposition and support for the practice. Ethical concerns are often at the heart of the debate.
To investigate moral views about trophy hunting, we conducted an online survey of randomly selected scholars worldwide who had published on biodiversity conservation ( n = 2315).
Scholars expressed divergent views on the moral acceptability of trophy hunting as a conservation practice. Moral convictions were significantly related to the perspectives of scholars.
The most important factor in predicting the moral views of the respondents was the consequences of trophy hunting for local human communities.
The results also indicated that utilitarian (versus deontological) decision‐making in conservation, ecological consequences of trophy hunting and animal welfare issues contribute to the divergent views.
The findings emphasize the need for interdisciplinary work on ethical issues concerning animal rights and welfare in conservation, as well as providing robust and comprehensive evidence on the consequences of trophy hunting for local communities.
We caution that polarization among conservation scholars may negatively affect conservation efforts. Based on the literature and our findings, we provide some recommendations to narrow the gap and consider different management options.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
... In 2000, 38 species were hunted, the most common being oryx (Oryx gazella), kudu (Trage-laphus strepsiceros), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), and hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) (Humavindu & Barnes 2003). A study found that hunters' satisfaction is greater with larger prey, preferably carnivores (Child & Darimont 2015). However, the listing of the animals shows that, despite the prominence of large species in the debate, the majority of trophy animals actually shot are smaller species. ...
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
The most basic moral dilemma in sport hunting is the dispute between deontologists, arguing that animals have inalienable rights to life, and consequentialists, arguing that hunting can lead to less total suffering and the conservation of species and habitats. This dilemma has already been presented in the historical chapter, mainly in Chapters 2.9 and 2.10.What we will attempt to demonstrate in Chapter 8 is that deontology vs. consequentialism is not the only important conflict between paradigms of normative ethics in the trophy hunting discourse. What seems to be unique about the conflict over trophy hunting compared to the conflict over sport hunting is that there is less emphasis on the death of animals per se and more emphasis on the persons who cause said deaths. The emphasis is on the character, motivations, behaviour, and attributes of the hunter.Our claim, following from this observation, is that in order to understand the moral conflicts underlying the trophy hunting discourse, it is no longer enough to understand the obvious incompatibilities between deontology and consequentialism. We must also be open to the possibility of incompatibilities between virtue ethics (i.e. the character of hunters) and consequentialism.To illustrate this, we present in Chapter 8.1 and 8.2 our observations from Twitter, where comments to trophy photos were categorized as pertaining to either the character of hunters or animals/the death of animals. A far greater number of comments about the character of hunters were found, supporting the notion that virtue ethics play an important role in antihunting sentiments.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
“Sport Hunting” is highly contentious and confusing, because it can have two meanings. One meaning of sport hunting is to hunt in a sporting way and give the animal a sporting chance. This is equivalent to the ideal of fair chase. The other meaning is to hunt for sport. It portrays hunting as competition and fun.In Chapter 6, we summarize the history of these terms – also discussed in Chapter 2 already – and discuss the meaning of sport hunting. We then discuss how fair chase is sought achieved by decreasing the power gap between hunter and prey through technological handicaps (like using a bow instead of a rifle – Chapter 6.1) and behavioural handicaps (like not shooting a deer on ice or in water or deep snow – Chapter 6.2).We then cover in Chapter 6.3 what we suggest could be an inverse relationship between fair chase and animal welfare. Bowhunting is one such example where, by making the hunt more difficult and therefore “fair,” evidence suggests that wounding rates and thereby animal suffering may increase.Finally, canned hunting is the practice of hunting animals that are fenced in, thus limiting their chance of escape. We discuss the very controversial issue of canned hunting in Chapter 6.4, as it is generally held up as an example of the opposite of fair chase. Plenty of hunting ranches in America, notably Texas, offer canned hunting, and captive-bred lions in South Africa for lion-petting tourism and canned hunting has until now been a big industry but seems to be shutting down. We cover all of this in 6.4.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
This chapter investigates conservation claims and issues as they pertain to hunting. After a description of the major regulations governing trophy hunting imports and exports (5.1 Trophy Hunting Regulations), this chapter examines the conservation situation in two geographically different sections.The first section (5.2 Hunting and Conservation in Africa) concerns the stereotypical perception of trophy hunting. The trophy hunting situation and conservation issues are completely different in Africa than in Europe and USA and the problems are more diverse and complex. African hunting is more controversial because the species involved (lions, elephants, giraffes, etc.) are iconic, highly anthropomorphized, and sometimes endangered. Both species extinction and species overpopulation are issues in Africa. Corruption, poverty, poaching, and the West imposing their wildlife ideals on Africa are also important factors that we cover here.The second section (5.3 Hunting and Conservation in Eurasia and the Americas) concerns trophy hunting mostly in Europe and USA, where they have few natural predators of deer, so hunting is broadly considered the most feasible way of keeping deer populations from outgrowing carrying capacities of habitats. There are issues, however, with keeping populations down, because hunters favour bucks (because of trophy-fixations and ingrained fair chase ideals), and shooting bucks does little to keep populations in check. Also, shooting the wrong bucks or shooting them too early leads to genetic problems in the populations. These are the primary conservation issues that we discuss in a European- and US context.Other conservation-related matters discussed in this chapter are hunting and genetics, management alternatives to hunting, photography, and poaching.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
In this final chapter, we present the challenges that recent years and especially 2020–21 have presented in the context of trophy hunting.In Chapter 9.1, we cover Covid-19 and how it has affected hunting and conservation differently in Africa, Europe, and the US. African countries and communities have suffered greatly economically from a lack of tourism, which has led to increased poaching and habitat loss; British venison could not be offhanded as it is largely supplied to restaurants, which have been closed because of Covid; and rural hunting and self-sufficiency mentality has increased in the US.In Chapter 9.2, we deal with the increasingly prominent issues of misinformation and disinformation in science communication and communication about trophy hunting especially, and with how social media amplifies misinformation. We describe a couple of the major trophy hunting disinformation campaigns on both sides of the fence and note how both celebrities and certain celebrity scientists seem to use anti trophy hunting campaigning as a popularity booster.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
We have three goals in Chapter 4.The first goal is to describe who hunters are (and to a lesser extent antihunters). Demographical information about hunters is much better for USA than for Europe, and trophy hunting is ten times the scale in USA as in the rest of the world combined, so we focus on a portrayal of American hunters. We use mainly the United States Fish and Wildlife Service statistics and the Virginia based Responsive Management survey research firm combined with demographical information about members of the Boone and Crockett Club and Safari Club International. Education, income, gender, ages, race, hunting efforts, and prey species of American hunters is laid out in Chapter 4.1, and we discuss common backgrounds of antihunters in Chapter 4.4.Our second goal (in Chapter 4.2 Hunting, Privilege, and Social Schisms) is to present and defend the hypothesis that hunter-antihunter conflicts are not just about hunting, but about many other social and sociocultural differences and conflicts. The trophy hunter stereotype (based on the demographics described in Chapter 4.1) is a male, white, conservative, protestant, wealthy, pro-gun, business owner. The antihunter (Chapter 4.4) is typically a female, non-white, liberal, anti-gun student. Hunting is just one representation of a mutual dislike that stems from many underlying societal tensions.Our third goal (in Chapters 4.3 and 4.5) is to explore why hunters hunt. We take our departure in the works of Stephen R. Kellert, and supplement with scholars like Jan E. Dizard, Simon Bronner, and Allen Morris Jones to discuss the three different archetypes of hunters (the nature hunter, the meat hunter, and the sport hunter), their reasons for hunting, and what hunting means to them. In Chapter 4.5, we discuss hunting motivations outside or not fully covered by Kellert’s framework and motivations that pertain specifically to trophies.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
Anthropomorphism – assigning human characteristics to nonhuman entities – plays an important role in trophy hunting, because the animals that are hunted for trophies are generally some of the most anthropomorphised animals with prominent and often highly anthropomorphized representation in movies. Deer are Bambis, lions are Simbas, elephants are Dumbos, etc. We argue that anthropomorphism is an important reason that trophy hunting is so disdained.We introduce this subject in 7.1 by way of an examination of a giraffe called Marius, who was killed in Copenhagen Zoo in 2014. We use Marius to introduce a discussion of what makes some animals anthropomorphised and loved while others are hated. The various features of animals that research has shown elicit human empathy are covered and the strategies of zoos in using those features for their benefit are explored. We also consider what makes some stories about animals more likely to go viral than others, such as animal names.We discuss what this all means and how it matters in a trophy hunting context in 7.2 and demonstrate that trophy hunted animals have many of the relevant features.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
The purposes of our second chapter are to provide a summary of hunting’s historical role and show how attitudes toward hunting have evolved. Our goal with this book is to foster a comprehensive understanding of trophy hunting, but to understand any hunting today, we must understand its history.
Hunting’s association with privilege today stems from Medieval Europe, where hunting was the prerogative of nobility.
The perception of hunting as courageous challenge and test of manhood comes from Antiquity in Greece and China.
Conservation arguments in favour of hunting rely on the conservation experiences of late nineteenth century American sport hunters like Theodore Roosevelt and their confrontation with market hunters.
Animal rights arguments against hunting today are mostly identical to those of Henry Stephens Salt in 1892.
The impression of hunters as indiscriminate exterminators of wildlife comes from market hunters’ decimation of bison- and passenger pigeon populations in colonial America and Great White Hunter stereotypes and their autobiographies from colonial Africa.
Etc.
This chapter also serves as a chronological literature review of hunting-as-conservation and antihunting arguments. We do not dwell on general explanations of e.g. animal rights, transcendentalism, or ecofeminist theory, as this is covered in other literature. We examine specifically the attitudes of these positions to hunting.
... (BBC 2015). Child and Darimont (2015) argued that smiles are closely related to hunting success. Based on an analysis of 2791 trophy photos, featuring smiling hunters, they found out that there were more genuine smiles 36 in photos where a hunter was displaying a large and/or carnivorous prey than in photos where a hunter displayed a smaller and/or herbivorous prey. ...
The third chapter is about the namesake of trophy hunters: The trophy. We have roughly four goals in this chapter:We start this chapter by explaining how we define a Hunting Trophy in this book. Next, we provide a thorough technical description of hunting trophies in two categories. First category (3.1 Taxidermy) is taxidermy. We summarize the history of taxidermy, dating back to the use of animal skins in the Palaeolithic, the much later embalming practices of Ancient Egypt, and its modern professional history. We detail how a mounted trophy is made, how the techniques have evolved, and what the attitudes toward taxidermy are and have been over time. In the second category (3.2 Skulls, Antlers, Skins, and Other Trophies) we describe everything that can be considered a hunting trophy but isn’t taxidermy. Most famous of these is the half-skull mount (euromount). We also make note of various related subjects, such as the freeze drying of dead pets, Gunther von Hagen’s plastination, mock trophies, etc.Second goal (in 3.3 Trophies and Record Books) is to make clear the connection between hunting trophies, trophy scoring, and trophy record keeping. We explain the history of trophy evaluation methodology and scoring methods/award systems and histories of six hunting organisations that are responsible for six established scoring methods for hunting trophies in chapters 3.3.1 to 3.3.6. In Chapter 3.4 we discuss the consequences of trophy scoring for hunting ethics.Our third goal is to discuss the meanings of trophies (3.5 The Meanings of Hunting Trophies). The two sides to this discussion are what trophies symbolize and mean to hunters and to nonhunters/antihunters.Last goal (in 3.6) is to provide an analysis of trophy photos. Trophy photos are important because they are all the public sees from trophy hunting, so they come to represent the activity in general, and the hunters in them come to shape the trophy hunter stereotype.
... However, in contemporary conservation, there are many more interest groups with claims on wildlife and its habitats. Sport hunting, against viable alternative activities from a conservation perspective, sustains the use of natural resources to the extirpation of a population, either through overhunting or through conversion of habitat to alternative uses (Child and Darimont, 2015). ...
... Social media data have a high potential for providing novel insights on human-nature interactions for conservation, for example, through analysing species' popularity and associated sentiment, monitoring wildlife trade online or assessing nature-based recreational preferences (Correia et al., 2021). Online hunting photos from social media were, for instance, used to assess the factors that drive satisfaction from trophy hunting (Child & Darimont, 2015). Retka et al. (2019) used photographs from the social media platform Flickr to map cultural ecosystem hotspots in a marine-protected area. ...
Global change is causing ecosystems to change at unprecedented rates and the urgency to quantify ecological change is high. We therefore need all possible sources of ecological data to address key knowledge gaps.
Ground‐based photos are a form of remote sensing and an unconventional data source with a high potential to improve our understanding of ecological change. They can provide invaluable information on ecological conditions in the past and present at relevant spatiotemporal scales that is very difficult to obtain with other approaches.
Here we review the use of ground‐based photos in a set of relevant ecological research topics, such as biodiversity and community ecology, phenology, global change ecology and landscape ecology. We highlight three main photo‐based methods in ecological research (repeat photography, time‐lapse photography and public archives), alongside which we discuss three case studies to demonstrate novel applications of these methods, to answer fundamental ecological questions.
Synthesis . Photos can significantly support ecological research to improve our understanding of biotic responses in a rapidly changing world. Photos cover relatively large temporal and spatial scales, and can provide large amounts of information with limited time investment. To exploit their full potential, we need to invest not only in technological advances to compile, process and analyse images but also in proper data management.
... 43 Indeed, much of the incentive can be traced to its colonial heritage as an elitist sport, but a sense of accomplishment in terms of skill and physical endurance in conquest of nature red in tooth and claw feature strongly. 43,44 There is still limited direct research on why certain people engage in hunting for amusement, the ''thrill of the chase,'' or a ''sense of achievement.'' 45 Overall, the ethical debates about recreational hunting in conservation science literature have been mostly dominated, implicitly or explicitly, by a set of western-normative ethical perspectives (e.g., deontology, utilitarianism/consequentialism). ...
The widespread activity of recreational hunting is proposed as a means of conserving nature and supporting livelihoods. However, recreational hunting-especially trophy hunting-has come under increasing scrutiny based on ethical concerns and the arguments that it can threaten species and fail to contribute meaningfully to local livelihoods. We provide an overview of the peer-reviewed literature on recreational hunting of terrestrial birds and mammals between 1953 and 2020 (>1,000 papers). The most-studied species are large mammals from North America, Europe, and Africa. While there is extensive research on spe-cies' ecology to inform sustainable hunting practices, there is comparably little research on the role of local perceptions and institutions in determining socioeconomic and conservation outcomes. Evidence is lacking to answer the pressing questions of where and how hunting contributes to just and sustainable conservation efforts. We outline an agenda to build this evidence base through research that recognizes diverse social-ecological contexts.
... Although we are not aware of formal research exploring personalities among different hunting groups or hunters with different motivations, trophy hunting certainly maintains the least socially acceptable form of hunting in most studies (Batavia et al., 2019;Peterson, 2004). Trophy hunting has long been more associated with competitive displays than social cohesion aspects of hunting (Child & Darimont, 2015;Hawkes & Bliege Bird, 2002), and this may explain trophy motivated hunters' tendency to value hunter education aspects focused on being conscientious of social concerns and norms (e.g., firearm safety and ethics) less than other groups. ...
Hunter education classes are a compulsory education tool for all hunters in North America, Europe and some other regions. However, little research focuses on hunter education. We surveyed Swedish hunters, examining how they valued key aspects of hunter education, and identifying socio-demographic predictors for those preferences. Learning about dog handling and making friends in the hunting community were the least important aspects of hunter education. Information about firearms was most important followed by information about hunting ethics, hunting laws, and wildlife ecology. Agerelated positively to valuing most aspects of hunter education. Duration huntingrelated negatively to valuing those aspects. Hunters motivated by social interactions valued hunting ethics content more, and hunters motivated by obtaining trophies valued hunting ethics less than their counterparts. Hunter education in Sweden would benefit from changes aimed at highlighting aspects of hunting that students’ value most.
... Even the classic children's teddy bear is suggested to have been born from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trip, becoming a symbol of the sublime that reverses the ethos of hunters and conquering wilderness to providing a comfort to children (Varga 2009, King 2012). On the other hand, hunting bears has been argued to vary between representing a manifestation of human ego, vanity, or pride to reflecting culturally important practices or subsistence lifestyles (Knight 2000, Child andDarimont 2015). ...
Throughout history and across their geographic distribution, bear species (Ursidae) have been portrayed and valued for their beauty, physical power, or ecological significance, while concurrently disliked and feared for their ferocity, negative economic impacts, and safety risks they can pose to people. How bear species are depicted in stories—including myths, legends, fables, or tales—can influence how people come to value bears and act toward them. It is our belief that reviewing the stories people tell about bears can be useful in understanding people's proclivity to conservation action, given that stories told about bears can be a powerful demonstration of how local culture influences human relations with wildlife. We conducted a review of English-language literature for stories about bears across their global range, to better understand how these stories reflect human thought and imagination, experiences, and behaviors concerning bears. We identify 4 themes about bears as told through different narratives—including kinship, utilitarianism, threat, and political bears—and illustrate how understanding stories told about the wild animals that share our lives can provide important insights into developing conservation policy and action.
... The point here is not so much to establish some fundamental truth about motives, but rather to observe that obtaining a grizzly bear trophy is almost certainly a common motive starkly evident in trophy shots easily accessed by a simple Google search (for example, Darimont & Child 2014, Child & Darimont 2015. These public displays are relevant simply because most adults in the United Statessomewhere between 65 and 70%-do not support trophy hunting or even object to trophy hunting on ethical grounds (Kellert 1980, Heberlein & Willebrand 1998, Remington Research Group 2016, The Economist/YouGov 2018. ...
This recently released report by The Grizzly Bear Recovery Project focuses on the likely effects of a grizzly bear sport hunt on both bears and people in the Northern Rockies. The report, entitled “Efficacies and Effects of Sport Hunting Grizzly Bears,” addresses a number of issues central to debates surrounding whether or not to start hunting grizzly bears if and when Endangered Species Act protections are removed. The report starts by setting the ecological and management stage, then addresses potential impacts on bear populations, likely effects on human safety and human-bear conflicts, and, finally, examines claims that hunting grizzly bears will build social acceptance. The report concludes that sport hunting will create substantial risks for grizzly bear populations in the contiguous United States, and not reduce conflicts, improve human safety, or foster increased acceptance of grizzlies in rural landscapes. Instead, non-lethal approaches are much more likely to foster grizzly bear conservation and improve human-bear coexistence, especially when coupled with authoritative processes that involve people with divergent interests in making management decisions.
... It may also explain why respondents called for more photos documenting the entirety of the hunting experience, but ultimately conceded this may be too personal to be a big draw on the covers of magazines. Nevertheless, this study has uncovered profound external, social, affiliative, and even representational sides of hunting photos (Child & Darimont, 2015). They no longer resonate merely within the individual, but communicate with other hunters, and increasingly with the non-hunting public. ...
Hunting trophies are shown to be undergoing socialization in photos. They are no longer personal souvenirs that serve a purely introspective function for the individual. Hunting photos are discussed, critiqued, and conspicuously displayed across online and print platforms. They are shared between hunters and lately also between hunters and the public. Criteria for good hunting photos reflect the changing modality and times in which photos are shared. The ways hunters stage, compose, and manipulate their hunting tableaux evolve to address external and internal pressures regarding their representation. This evolution is illustrated in qualitative interviews with hunting magazine editors and hunting photographers in Sweden, as well as review of 320 hunting magazine covers from 1960s to today. To this new class of hunter-artists, the presentation of the quarry as object or sovereign wildlife changes the hunting tableau and also responds to contested ideals of authenticity in nature.
... While these explanations are speculative, they generally align with previous research that has found North American hunters display evidence of 'achievement satisfaction' (congruence of goals and outcomes regarding performance) more commonly when sharing information about carnivore hunts compared to herbivore hunts. For example, men posing with carnivores of any size in hunting photographs have higher odds of displaying a 'true smile', an honest signal of pleasure, compared to pictures with herbivore prey [54]. Additionally, in online discussion forums about hunting, men express achievement-oriented phrases more frequently when describing carnivore hunts compared to ungulate hunts [55]. ...
Hunters often target species that require resource investment disproportionate to associated nutritional rewards. Costly signalling theory provides a potential explanation, proposing that hunters target species that impose high costs (e.g. higher failure and injury risks, lower consumptive returns) because it signals an ability to absorb costly behaviour. If costly signalling is relevant to contemporary 'big game' hunters, we would expect hunters to pay higher prices to hunt taxa with higher perceived costs. Accordingly, we hypothesized that hunt prices would be higher for taxa that are larger-bodied, rarer, carnivorous, or described as dangerous or difficult to hunt. In a dataset on 721 guided hunts for 15 North American large mammals, prices listed online increased with body size in carnivores (from approximately $550 to $1800 USD/day across the observed range). This pattern suggests that elements of costly signals may persist among contemporary non-subsistence hunters. Persistence might simply relate to deception, given that signal honesty and fitness benefits are unlikely in such different conditions compared with ancestral environments in which hunting behaviour evolved. If larger-bodied carnivores are generally more desirable to hunters, then conservation and management strategies should consider not only the ecology of the hunted but also the motivations of hunters.
... This finding might relate to the psychology of hunting. A study that analysed photos of hunters posing with their prey found that levels of achievement satisfaction displayed by the hunter were greater when posing with larger and more dangerous prey [83]. Humans may believe it is more acceptable-and satisfactory-to kill species that are more dangerous, possibly because of the potential threat they pose to humans. ...
Simple Summary: With the general goal of increasing knowledge about how individuals perceive and evaluate different animals, we provide normative data on an extensive set of open-source animal images, spanning a total of 12 biological categories (e.g., mammals, insects, reptiles, arachnids), on 11 evaluative dimensions (e.g., valence, cuteness, capacity to think, acceptability to kill for human consumption). We found that animal evaluations were affected by individual characteristics of the perceiver, particularly gender, diet and companion animal ownership. Moral attitudes towards animals were predominantly predicted by ratings of cuteness, edibility, capacity to feel and familiarity. We hope this free resource may help advance research into the many different ways we relate to animals. Abstract: There has been increasing interest in the study of human-animal relations. This contrasts with the lack of normative resources and materials for research purposes. We present subjective norms for a set of 120 open-source colour images of animals spanning a total of 12 biological categories (e.g., mammals, insects, reptiles, arachnids). Participants (N = 509, 55.2% female, M Age = 28.05, SD = 9.84) were asked to evaluate a randomly selected subset of 12 animals on valence, arousal, familiarity, cuteness, dangerousness, edibility, similarity to humans, capacity to think, capacity to feel, acceptability to kill for human consumption and feelings of care and protection. Animal evaluations were affected by individual characteristics of the perceiver, particularly gender, diet and companion animal ownership. Moral attitudes towards animals were predominantly predicted by ratings of cuteness, edibility, capacity to feel and familiarity. The Animal Images Database (Animal.ID) is the largest open-source database of rated images of animals; the stimuli set and item-level data are freely available online.
... There is also a methodological bias in existing research which has epistemological implications: the vast majority of studies on hunters and their experiences are based on broad survey 'tick-box' data, which, while providing a large-scale description of hunters, often fail to capture their complex reasoning and mindsets in pursuing hunting and how they rationalise their pursuits in light of growing criticism against the trophy hunting industry in particular. The output of most of these survey studies is typically in the form of categorisations of hunters' motivations (for example, Decker and Connelly, 1989), dimensions for satisfaction and goal orientations (for example, Child and Darimont, 2015;Hayslette et al., 2001;Hendee, 1974). The present study instead engages with hunters on a discursive level, creating an alternative conceptualisation and reading of the tourist-hunter. ...
... This is a recurring factor that divides hunters, as well as most participants in serious leisure pursuits (Green and Jones, 2005) albeit with some variation. The newer the hunter, the more they are associated with trigger-happy dispositions and are seen to mellow as they mature (Child and Darimont, 2015;Eliason, 2004;Raija and Jarno, 2013). Swedish hunters self-report a maturing process into taking less chances and valuing the appreciative, affiliative and aesthetic dimensions of hunting as they age . ...
Hunting is a social world in which members socially differentiate themselves into smaller social worlds on the basis of adhering to a particular method, aesthetic, or game. Such identity constitution has been understood as forming communities of practice of hunters. Importantly, these communities frequently take pride in their distinct identities and assert theirs is the ‘real’ way of hunting. In this paper, we canvass the diverse factors that make up hunter identities and examine them for patterns and meaning. Our analysis places the phenomenon of social differentiation as it currently takes place in hunting in the context of responses to modernization. On this analysis, hunter identities are found to be rooted in defensive localism, class competition over resources, gender and moral affiliation, and the protection of the social legitimacy of hunting before an increasingly critical society. Our work is at once a synthesis of recurring hunting profiles across literature and field sites in Europe and a critical analysis of the significance of hunting communities of practice in future research, including serious leisure studies, nature-based recreation, criminology and rural sociology.
... Satisfaction is defined as the similarity between expectations and outcomes measured after a period of reflection (Manning 1999), whereas hunt quality is measured immediately following the hunt with no prior expectations known and may be a strong predictor of satisfaction in waterfowl hunting (Hendee 1974, National Flyway Council 2006, Brunke and Hunt 2008. However, the importance of harvest on hunt quality might not be openly discussed in focus group studies or captured in surveys, even though it may be important to recruitment, retention and reactivation of waterfowl hunters (Vaske et al. 1986, Kaltenborn and Andersen 2009, Child and Darimont 2015. ...
Waterfowl hunters participate in hunting for appreciative-, affiliative-, and achievement-oriented reasons. To investigate the influence of
achievement-oriented factors on hunt quality, we analyzed post-hunt surveys completed by waterfowl hunters at four Mississippi Wildlife Management
Areas (WMAs), 2008–2015. We used these questions to calculate a hunt quality score for each participant and tested whether variation in hunt quality
was best explained by total number of ducks harvested, number of mallards harvested, total bag weight, or palatability of ducks. Hunt quality increased
with total number of ducks and mallards harvested. Hunt quality scores increased with an increasing number of ducks harvested up to six total ducks
(i.e., the daily allowable bag) and number of mallards up to 3 ducks (i.e., 1 less than the daily allowable bag during study). Our results indicate that
harvesting ducks, especially mallards, is important to hunters at Mississippi WMAs. The importance of duck harvest to hunters should be considered in
developing waterfowl management plans in Mississippi and elsewhere in the southeastern United States where these ducks are common.
... There is also a methodological bias in existing research which has epistemological implications: the vast majority of studies on hunters and their experiences are based on broad survey 'tick-box' data, which, while providing a large-scale description of hunters, often fail to capture their complex reasoning and mindsets in pursuing hunting and how they rationalise their pursuits in light of growing criticism against the trophy hunting industry in particular. The output of most of these survey studies is typically in the form of categorisations of hunters' motivations (for example, Decker and Connelly, 1989), dimensions for satisfaction and goal orientations (for example, Child and Darimont, 2015;Hayslette et al., 2001;Hendee, 1974). The present study instead engages with hunters on a discursive level, creating an alternative conceptualisation and reading of the tourist-hunter. ...
Tourism is a vital tool for political and economic change. Calls for boycotts by tourists of countries reflect the huge impact that tourist activity and the tourism industry has on political change.
... Second, evidence for show-off behaviour appears clear. Trophy hunters commonly pose for photographs with their prey, with the heads, hides and ornamentation prepared for display [18]. Interestingly, similar costly display occurs in other taxa. ...
The killing of Cecil the lion ( Panthera leo ) ignited enduring and increasingly global discussion about trophy hunting [[1][1]]. Yet, policy debate about its benefits and costs (e.g. [[2][2],[3][3]]) focuses only on the hunted species and biodiversity, not the unique behaviour of hunters. Some
Hunters are accustomed to a degree of “freedom with responsibility” and exemption from having to justify their practices to the general public. But the time for sovereignty may be over. Hunters increasingly have to justify their hunting forms, their shooting practices, the way they talk about wildlife and killing generally to the general public, which demands transparency about the ethical principles that guide interaction with wildlife—a public good. Such principles have always existed tacitly among hunters, but the community now observes a need to explicate them, in part, to justify the mantra of freedom with responsibility. In this study, hunting media across six decades past examined as to its evolving ethics talk. Hunting magazines, social media forum, and online pages are searched for the contours of ethics talk. Ten interviews with hunting journalists, six of whom editors of hunting magazines, relay the climate of ethics talk and the relative willingness or reluctance of hunters to engage in such discussions. It is shown that there are stronger calls to self-criticize and reflect on hunting ethics and across new nodes. The evolving nature of ethics discussions further reflects the historical modality (and context) in which they take place. Ethics talk is shown, for example, to be shaped by Sweden’s ascension into the EU, the rise of rapidly spreading potentially incriminating trophy shots across social media and a reaction toward processes of globalization. Among other things, discernible from the ethics talk is a re-activation of nationalist traditions around “jägarmässighet’ and Swedish propriety in the face of outside threat to identity.
This article argues that trophy hunting is not an ahistorical phenomenon. Hunting for sport became popular among US elites in the late 1800s. Since this time, in addition to animal trophies being displayed as evidence of one’s economic and cultural capital, these commodities have served as symbolic evidence of their owner’s courage, skill, and fortitude. Currently, the hunting industry (i.e. sporting goods retailers, weapons manufacturers, and advertising supported media) seeks to perpetuate and expand these perceptions. Displaying animal trophies is unlike many other forms of competitive consumption, such as displaying expensive jewelry, in that the hunting industry has attempted to create the often false perception that these commodities required their owners to conquer dangerous and cunning opponents. Trophy hunting is unlike many other sports, in that economic resources, as opposed to skill, are often the primary factor in determining one’s success. Therefore, the use values of animal trophies are fetishized.
This article extends a previous comparative analysis (Vaske, Donnelly, Heberlein, & Shelby, 198259.
Vaske , J. J. ,
Donnelly , M. P. ,
Heberlein , T. A. and
Shelby , B. 1982. Differences in reported satisfaction ratings by consumptive and nonconsumptive recreationists. Journal of Leisure Research, 14: 195–206. [Web of Science ®], [CSA]View all references) by analyzing differences in overall satisfaction by consumptive and nonconsumptive recreationists over a 30-year period. Based on theory and previous research, two hypotheses were advanced: (a) consumptive recreationists will report significantly lower satisfaction than will nonconsumptive recreationists and (b) this pattern will remain consistent over time. Data were obtained from published and unpublished studies in 57 consumptive (e.g., hunters) and 45 nonconsumptive (e.g., kayakers) recreation contexts. Each study used the same overall satisfaction question (i.e., “overall, how would you rate your experience”). Following Vaske et al. (198259.
Vaske , J. J. ,
Donnelly , M. P. ,
Heberlein , T. A. and
Shelby , B. 1982. Differences in reported satisfaction ratings by consumptive and nonconsumptive recreationists. Journal of Leisure Research, 14: 195–206. [Web of Science ®], [CSA]View all references), responses were collapsed into three categories (i.e., “poor/fair,” “good/very good,” “excellent/perfect”). The independent variables were activity type and year. Consistent with the hypotheses, consumptive recreationists reported lower satisfaction than did nonconsumptive recreationists, and this pattern of findings generally remained consistent over time.
Large carnivores face serious threats and are experiencing massive declines in their populations and geographic ranges around
the world. We highlight how these threats have affected the conservation status and ecological functioning of the 31 largest
mammalian carnivores on Earth. Consistent with theory, empirical studies increasingly show that large carnivores have substantial
effects on the structure and function of diverse ecosystems. Significant cascading trophic interactions, mediated by their
prey or sympatric mesopredators, arise when some of these carnivores are extirpated from or repatriated to ecosystems. Unexpected
effects of trophic cascades on various taxa and processes include changes to bird, mammal, invertebrate, and herpetofauna
abundance or richness; subsidies to scavengers; altered disease dynamics; carbon sequestration; modified stream morphology;
and crop damage. Promoting tolerance and coexistence with large carnivores is a crucial societal challenge that will ultimately
determine the fate of Earth’s largest carnivores and all that depends upon them, including humans.
Long-term data (1974–2011) from harvested bighorn rams (Ovis canadensis) in Alberta, Canada, suggested a reduction in horn size and in the proportion of trophy rams in the provincial population over time. Age at harvest increased over time, suggesting slower horn growth. Rams that experienced favorable environmental conditions early in life had rapid horn growth and were harvested at a younger age than rams with slower horn growth. Guided nonresident hunters did not harvest larger rams than residents, suggesting that few large rams were available. Resident hunter success declined in recent years. Despite an apparently stable population, successive cohorts produced a decreasing harvest of trophy rams. We suggest that unrestricted harvest based on a threshold horn size led to a decline in the availability of trophy rams. That decline is partly an inevitable consequence of selective hunting that removes larger rams. Although our analysis does not establish that evolution of smaller horns caused the observed decline in both horn size and harvest of trophy rams, we suggest that intensive trophy hunting may have artificially selected for a decrease in horn growth rate. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.
Antler characteristics are a measure of phenotypic quality and are used by wildlife managers and hunters to assess herd characteristics of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). A single metric for antler quality would benefit scientists, wildlife managers, and the hunting public by providing a common gauge. Total antler volume or mass may be the most accurate measure of antler development, but is not practical to obtain from most hunter-harvested animals. The most accepted single measure of antler size is Boone & Crockett (B&C) score. We confirmed the efficacy of gross B&C scores as a predictor of antler mass (g) using antler measurements from 159 captive deer from the Mississippi State University Rusty Dawkins Memorial Deer Unit taken during 1986–1997. Gross B&C score explained 78% of variation in antler mass and was the best 1-variable predictive model. However, calculation of gross B&C score may require >=11 measurements for most harvested adult males. To test the possibility of deriving a simple model to predict gross B&C score from a reduced number of measurements, we used data from 3,532 deer in the Mississippi Magnolia Records Program to examine regression models using inside spread, number of antler points, basal circumference, and main beam length as explanatory variables, because these are the most common antler measurements recorded by wildlife managers. A simple model using total number of points >=2.5 cm and length of main beams explained 77% of variability in gross B&C scores. This model should enable hunters to provide accurate information to biologists regarding antler development in adult age classes, and its relative simplicity may encourage use.
Photographs of trophy animals in 14 popular hunting magazines were analysed to explore the visual representations of dead animal bodies. We found multifaceted messages about the relationships between humans and other animals grounded in narratives of gender, race and embodiment. The visual representations of dead animal bodies are embedded in the taken-for- granted stories of love and affection for nature and wildlife that frame the contemporary hunting agenda, including the assumption that trophy displays memorialize the beauty of nature and natural animals. Disentangling ourselves from that dominant notion of what it means to display dead trophy animals was revelatory. Instead of love and respect for nature and wildlife, we found extreme objectification and marginalization of animal bodies. While we observed some elaborate displays of reassembled and carefully positioned dead bodies to appear as if still alive, a number of trophy exhibits hid the animal body behind or beneath weapons and other hunting equipment. The vast majority of the hunters in the images were white males, and when women or men of colour were included in the photographs their representations were usually consistent with gender and race stereotypes. Of these race/gender stereotypes the most interesting (and most symbolic of the patriarchal nature of the hunting discourse) was that neither women nor men of colour ever held a weapon when they appeared in photographs with white men.
Trophy hunting can provide economic incentives to conserve wild species, but it can also involve risk when rare species are hunted. The anthropogenic Allee effect (AAE) is a conceptual model that seeks to explain how rarity may spread the seeds of further endangerment. The AAE model has increasingly been invoked in the context of trophy hunting, increasing concerns that such hunting may undermine rather than enhance conservation efforts. We question the appropriateness of uncritically applying the AAE model to trophy hunting for 4 reasons. First, the AAE assumes an open-access resource, which is a poor characterization of most trophy-hunting programs and obscures the potential for state, communal, or private-property use rights to generate positive incentives for conservation. Second, study results that show the price of hunting increases as the rarity of the animal increases are insufficient to indicate the presence of AAE. Third, AAE ignores the existence of biological and behavioral factors operating in most trophy-hunting contexts that tend to regulate the effect of hunting. We argue that site-specific data, rather than aggregated hunting statistics, are required to demonstrate that patterns of unsustainable exploitation can be well explained by an AAE model. Instead, we suggest that conservation managers seeking to investigate and identify constraints that limit the potential conservation role of trophy hunting, should focus on the critical governance characteristics that shape the potential conservation role of trophy hunting, such as corruption, insecure property rights, and inadequate sharing of benefits with local people. Aplicación del Modelo Antropogénico del Efecto Allee sobre la Caza de Trofeos como una Herramienta de Conservación.
Sport hunting is often proposed as a tool to support the conservation of large carnivores. However, it is challenging to provide tangible economic benefits from this activity as an incentive for local people to conserve carnivores. We assessed economic gains from sport hunting and poaching of leopards (Panthera pardus), costs of leopard depredation of livestock, and attitudes of people toward leopards in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique. We sent questionnaires to hunting concessionaires (n = 8) to investigate the economic value of and the relative importance of leopards relative to other key trophy-hunted species. We asked villagers (n = 158) the number of and prices for leopards poached in the reserve and the number of goats depredated by leopard. Leopards were the mainstay of the hunting industry; a single animal was worth approximately U.S.$24,000. Most safari revenues are retained at national and international levels, but poached leopard are illegally traded locally for small amounts ($83). Leopards depredated 11 goats over 2 years in 2 of 4 surveyed villages resulting in losses of $440 to 6 households. People in these households had negative attitudes toward leopards. Although leopard sport hunting generates larger gross revenues than poaching, illegal hunting provides higher economic benefits for households involved in the activity. Sport-hunting revenues did not compensate for the economic losses of livestock at the household level. On the basis of our results, we propose that poaching be reduced by increasing the costs of apprehension and that the economic benefits from leopard sport hunting be used to improve community livelihoods and provide incentives not to poach. Costos y Beneficios de la Presencia de Leopardos para la Industria de la Caza Deportiva y las Comunidades Locales en Niassa, Reserva Nacional, Mozambique.
According to optimality theory, an individual's characteristics should play a major part in determining antipredator strategies. We studied behavioural reactions to human presence of gender and age classes of 35 thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli Nelson, 1884) in late winter 2001 in Faro, Yukon Territory, Canada. The behaviour of undisturbed sheep was observed from distances of 400–1200 m and compared with the behaviour recorded when one or two people were in close proximity to the sheep. Ewes decreased bedding and increased foraging when humans were present, but there were no changes in these behaviours in rams. Disturbance caused an increase in vigilance and a trend was found for adults to react more strongly to disturbance than juveniles. We demonstrate the importance for disturbance research of gaining detailed information about all different kinds of population members and using applicable statistical tests in the data analyses.
This work examined some assumptions that underpin the conflict between hunters and anti-hunting movement. The moral contradictions of anti-hunting activism are positioned in the complex context of consumer culture, managed environmental protection, and industrial food production. The assumption that environmental groups are by definition opposed to hunting is investigated. Given that both hunters and environmental groups are interested in land conservation, and given the rapid habitat loss around the globe, the question is asked whether joint conservation efforts would prove beneficial not only to both groups' interests, but also to the fragile North American ecosystems and the species that reside in them.
Moose Alces alces gigas in Alaska, USA, exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, with adult males possessing large, elaborate antlers. Antler size and conformation are influenced by age, nutrition and genetics, and these bony structures serve to establish social rank and affect mating success. Population density, combined with anthropogenic effects such as harvest, is thought to influence antler size. Antler size increased as densities of moose decreased, ostensibly a density-dependent response related to enhanced nutrition at low densities. The vegetation type where moose were harvested also affected antler size, with the largest-antlered males occupying more open habitats. Hunts with guides occurred in areas with low moose density, minimized hunter interference and increased rates of success. Such hunts harvested moose with larger antler spreads than did non-guided hunts. Knowledge and abilities allowed guides to satisfy demands of trophy hunters, who are an integral part of the Alaskan economy. Heavy harvest by humans was also associated with decreased antler size of moose, probably via a downward shift in the age structure of the population resulting in younger males with smaller antlers. Nevertheless, density-dependence was more influential than effects of harvest on age structure in determining antler size of male moose. Indeed, antlers are likely under strong sexual selection, but we demonstrate that resource availability influenced the distribution of these sexually selected characters across the landscape. We argue that understanding population density in relation to carrying capacity (K) and the age structure of males is necessary to interpret potential consequences of harvest on the genetics of moose and other large herbivores. Our results provide researchers and managers with a better understanding of variables that affect the physical condition, antler size, and perhaps the genetic composition of populations, which may be useful in managing and modelling moose populations.
Two experiments examined survey respondents' concerns about risks and losses when answering sensitive questions in a survey. In Experiment 1 subjects watched one of eight different versions of a videotaped staged interview of a woman being asked about abortion and drunk driving. Experiment 2 was an actual survey interview about women's health issues, including abortion. In Experiment 2, a large proportion of the sample had a recent abortion for which validation information from the clinic was available. Results of both experiments indicate that, when responding to questions about sensitive topics, survey respondents are concerned about risks and losses other than those covered by standard confidentiality assurances and that these other concerns affect truthful reporting. Experiment 1 showed the importance of privacy in surveys of sensitive behaviours. The experiments suggest that under some circumstances interviewer-administration of sensitive questions may produce data as good as or better than self-administration. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Methodological problems in describing patterns of senescence in wild populations have until recently impeded progress in understanding the evolution of a process that decreases individual fitness, We investigated age- and sex-specific survival in five populations of three species of ungulates (roe deer, Capreolus capreolus; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; and isard, Rupicapra pyrenaica), using recent statistical developments of capture-mark-recapture models and long-term (12 to 22 yr) data on marked individuals. The yearly survival of females aged 2-7 yr was remarkably similar and very high (92-95%) in all five populations. Survival of adult males varied among species and populations. Survival decreased from 8 yr onward for both sexes in all populations, suggesting that senescence was a common phenomenon. Male survival was lower than female survival, and the gender difference increased with age. The extent of sex differences in survival was related neither to sexual dimorphism in mass nor to the level
Zahavi's1,2 handicap principle makes “waste” a common outcome of signal selection because the cost of a signal guarantees its honesty. The capacity to bear the cost reveals the show-off's hidden qualities. While displays take many forms, some also provide fitness-related benefits to the audience in addition to information about the show-off. Zahavi3 has used the handicap principle to explain both merely wasteful displays and altruistic behavior. Here we focus on the distinction between these two kinds of display and the importance of benefits other than information in show-off explanations of a particular puzzle in human evolution: men's work. Males of other primate species do not contribute any significant fraction of the food consumed by females and juveniles. Our own species is different. When people live on wild foods, hunting is usually a specialty of men, and meat is commonly a substantial component of everyone's diet. Here we explore the hypothesis that this unique male subsistence contribution may have evolved as hunting large animals became a focus of competitive display.
Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these
animals may be humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic
problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater
ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but
also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire,
carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary
research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.
Tanzania holds most of the remaining large populations of African lions (Panthera leo) and has extensive areas of leopard habitat (Panthera pardus), and both species are subjected to sizable harvests by sport hunters. As a first step toward establishing sustainable management strategies, we analyzed harvest trends for lions and leopards across Tanzania's 300,000 km(2) of hunting blocks. We summarize lion population trends in protected areas where lion abundance has been directly measured and data on the frequency of lion attacks on humans in high-conflict agricultural areas. We place these findings in context of the rapidly growing human population in rural Tanzania and the concomitant effects of habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and cultural practices. Lion harvests declined by 50% across Tanzania between 1996 and 2008, and hunting areas with the highest initial harvests suffered the steepest declines. Although each part of the country is subject to some form of anthropogenic impact from local people, the intensity of trophy hunting was the only significant factor in a statistical analysis of lion harvest trends. Although leopard harvests were more stable, regions outside the Selous Game Reserve with the highest initial leopard harvests again showed the steepest declines. Our quantitative analyses suggest that annual hunting quotas be limited to 0.5 lions and 1.0 leopard/1000 km(2) of hunting area, except hunting blocks in the Selous Game Reserve, where harvests should be limited to 1.0 lion and 3.0 leopards/1000 km(2) .
"Conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Canada is based on the goals and principles of the 1973 International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Their Habitat, and has long been considered an exemplar of science-based wildlife management. However, accelerating social and ecological changes in the Arctic raise questions about the polar bear management regime’s ability to adapt successfully to new challenges. We apply the analytic framework of the policy sciences to develop a comprehensive orientation to this evolving situation, and we suggest possible ways to define and advance shared goals of stakeholders and other participants. We conclude that the decision process in polar bear management does not sufficiently foster identification and securing of common interests among participants who express multiple, competing perspectives in an arena that has been increasingly fragmented and symbolically charged by issues such as the recent listing of polar bears under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The fundamental challenge for polar bear conservation in Canada is to design a better decision process so that it can constructively reconcile the various perspectives, demands, and expectations of stakeholders."
Humans have mixed emotions concerning carnivores. We admire them as beautiful hunters, cosset them as pets, and use their pelts and other products in clothing, medicines and cosmetics. However, they are also responsible for killing us and our livestock, carry disease and compete with us for space and food. While some advocate the conservation of predators such as wolves and tigers, others see them as vermin and want them gone. In this book, Hans Kruuk, a life-long naturalist with a passion for predators tells the fascinating story of carnivores and our intricate relationships with them. Illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, it deals with the wild beauty of carnivores and their conservation, but also with furs and medicine, man-eaters and sheep-killers, explaining in simple terms what the role of carnivores is in nature, how this impacts on human lives, our art and literature, how we instinctively respond to them and why.
A conceptual framework of trout fishermen is developed around the concept “recreational specialization.” This refers to a continuum of behavior from the general to the specialized. It is reflected by equipment, skills used, and preferences for specific recreation setting. Two hundred sixty-three on-site interviews with fishermen in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, supplemented by participant observation, yielded four types. They range from sportsmen with minimal interest and skill in the sport to those highly committed and, specialized members of a leisure social world. Resulting propositions are: (1) Fishermen tend to become more specialized over time, (2) the most specialized comprise a leisure subculture with unique minority recreationist values, (3) increased specialization implies a shift from fish consumption to preservation and emphasis on the activity's nature and setting, and (4) as specialization increases, dependency on particular resource types increases. Management implications of these propositions are discussed.
Comparisons between consumptive and nonconsumptive recreationists were based on data collected in 12 separate studies across the US covering a range of activities. Respondents were asked the same question: 'Overall, how would you rate your day/trip?' Responses were coded on a six-point scale ranging from poor to perfect. As predicted, consumptive users reported significantly lower satifaction scores than did the nonconsumptive recreationists. Satisfaction ratings for the successful hunters and fishermen were higher than those reported by unsuccessful consumptive recreationists, but were lower than those indicated by the non-consumptive user groups. -Authors
Based on data from a mail survey of recipients of deer management permits conducted in 1987 in New York, validity of the assumption that every hunter wants to shoot as many deer as possible is challenged. The primary motivation for participation in deer hunting for most hunters is neither a desire for venison nor a desire to manage deer. Although the latter may change over time given enough educational attention, the current reality is that motications for hunting deer are rooted in the areas of personal achievement, affiliation with friends and family, and appreciation of the outdoors. -from Authors
For twenty-five years, Studies in Outdoor Recreation has served as an invaluable reference for park and recreation managers and a standard text in college courses. The only book to integrate social science literature on outdoor recreation, it reviews studies from this broad, interdisciplinary field and synthesizes them into a body of knowledge, providing a historical perspective on outdoor recreation research and developing its practical management implications. This third edition is fully revised to reflect current research and new concerns in the field. A new chapter examines the emerging issue of sense of place and its relationship to outdoor recreation. The book concludes with twenty principles to guide outdoor recreation management and research. An extensive bibliography and section entitled Notes on Sources: A Guide to the Social Science Literature in Outdoor Recreation lead readers to valuable primary source material.
Fishing trip satisfaction was defined as the fulfillment of various expected psychological outcomes. A policy-capturing technique was used to determine how anglers rated various dimensions of fishing satisfaction identified in previous studies and whether subgroups focused on certain trip dimensions. Dimensions studied were a sense of freedom, excitement, catching a fish, relaxation, enjoying the natural setting, and thinking about past fishing experiences. Scenarios that represented various combinations ofthese dimensions were completed by a sample of 166 members ofa sportfishing association in Texas. Enjoying a quality environment and feeling a sense of freedom were the two most important dimensions of satisfaction for most respondents. There was no dominant policy that most people followed. Cluster analysis revealed seven groups of anglers with different policies of fishing trip evaluation. Group sizes ranged from 4 to 21% of the sample. For some clusters, fishing satisfaction had more to do with complex feelings associated with leisure than with the excitement of catching fish. Only one group (6%) rated catch more important to trip satisfaction than other aspects studied. Managers can use this technique to differentiate products or types of fishing and to meet the supply-and-demand requirements of various angler segments in the population more effectively.
Review of the book, Neil R. Carlson, William Buskist, Michael E. Enzle, and C. Donald Heth (authors) Psychology: The Science of Behaviour. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada Ltd., 2002, 701 pp., ISBN 0-13-0393606-6. Reviewed by: George Alder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this study, three distinct segments of German anglers differing with respect to degree of catch orientation as the main fishing motive were identified in a nationwide telephone survey (N ¼ 474). Noncatch aspects of the fishing experience played a major role in the motivations of anglers: about 80% of the sample was classified as anglers with a low, or minimal, catch orientation. Angler satisfaction and its determinants were examined across degrees of catch orientation to improve understanding of the link between angler motivation and satisfaction. Highly catch-oriented anglers were significantly less satisfied with the previous angling season than were minimally catch-oriented anglers. An exclusivity of activity-specific, mainly catch-related, satisfaction components as predictors of overall angling year satisfaction was found in all angler segments, irrespective of catch orientation. Satisfaction was unrelated to actual catch or harvest rates, and no significant differences in catch and harvest were found across the three catch orientation groups. This suggested that catch expectation was the primary driver of angler satisfaction. This study revealed that there are anglers, most often the majority within the population, who can be characterized as attaching relatively little importance to catch motives but whose satisfaction is still mainly catch dependent. It is not warranted to conclude that there is a striking disconnect in this finding. The reasons for the apparently striking inconsistency between motivation and satisfaction are related to (1) the fundamental conceptual differences in meaning and definition of motivation and satisfaction and (2) the differential ease in satisfying activity-general and activity-specific aspects of the fishing experience. Care must be taken not to draw overly simplified management implications from motivational information. However, by knowing the determinants of angler satisfaction, the manager's ability to plan future management actions is improved, and satisfaction rather than motivation is the ultimate product of the fishing experience. Investigations of the motives that drive anglers to fish have been a frequent topic of research into the human dimension of recreational fisheries (Ditton 2004). Efforts to study angler motivations were stimulated by the assumption that providing quality fishing experiences to anglers (or influencing angler behavior and/or thinking) requires an understanding of what is important to the anglers (Fedler and Ditton 1994; Finn and Loomis 2001). The different experi-ences sought by recreational anglers can be viewed in terms of two sets of elements: those that are activity specific (unique to that activity), and those that are activity general (common to all outdoor recreation activities; Fisher 1997). Activity-specific elements include the species sought, size of fish, number of fish, setting in which fish are caught, disposition of the catch (e.g., releasing versus harvesting), pulling strength of the fish, and method by which the fish is caught. Activity-general elements are relaxation, asso-ciation with peers and friends, experiencing natural surroundings, ''escaping,'' and being outdoors, among other things (Fedler and Ditton 1994). Previous motivation research has revealed that recreational fishing constitutes a multifaceted outdoor experience in which people seek multiple benefits that are both catch and noncatch related (Hendee 1974; Driver and Knopf 1976; Driver and Cooksey 1977; Fedler and Ditton 1994). The importance of the catch along with noncatch experience preferences (synony-mously used in the literature with expected outcomes or motivations) has been shown to vary among angler segments (Bryan 1977; Fedler and Ditton 1986, 1994; Ditton et al. 1992; Aas and Kaltenborn 1995; Fisher 1997; Wilde et al. 1998). Many studies conducted on the relative importance of catch and noncatch motives found that catching fish was generally not as important to anglers as were noncatch motivations, and the primary motivations for fishing did not necessarily involve the catching or eating aspects of recreational angling (Driver and Knopf 1976; Fedler and Ditton 1994; Ditton 2004). The incorporation of this finding into fishery management has generated controversy between fish-ery managers and human dimensions researchers, and
Most research on catch-and-release (C&R) in recreational fishing has been conducted from a disciplinary angle focusing on the biological sciences and the study of hooking mortality after release. This hampers understanding of the complex and multifaceted nature of C&R. In the present synopsis, we develop an integrative perspective on C&R by drawing on historical, philosophical, socio-psychological, biological, and managerial insights and perspectives. Such a perspective is helpful for a variety of reasons, such as 1) improving the science supporting successful fisheries management and conservation, 2) facilitating dialogue between managers, anglers, and other stakeholders, 3) minimizing conflict potentials, and 4) paving the path toward sustainable recreational fisheries management. The present work highlights the array of cultural, institutional, psychological, and biological factors and dimensions involved in C&R. Progress toward successful treatment of C&R might be enhanced by acknowledging the complexity inherent in C&R recreational fishing.
For wildlife conservation to succeed in developing countries, people who live in or near protected areas must receive benefits that offset the costs of their reduced access to natural resources. International trophy hunting is currently generating significant economic benefits for residents of game management areas in Zambia. This has been made possible through a revolving fund and an administrative program that direct revenues from trophy hunting to local wildlife management and community development projects. Benefits might be enhanced by better biological information for management, greater local participation in the allocation and operation of hunting concessions, and the promotion of ecological and ethical standards for trophy hunting. An international system of certification for trophy hunting operations could foster these improvements.
Para el éxito de la conservación de la vida silvestre en países en desarrollo la gente que vive en o cerca de áreas protegidas debe recibir beneficios que compensen los costos de la reducción del acceso a los recursos naturales. Actualmente a nivel internacional la cacería deportiva genera beneficios económicos significativos para los residentes de las áreas de manejo recreativo en Zambia. Esto ha sido posible a través de fondos revolventes y un programa administrativo que dirige las ganacias de la cacería deportiva hacia proyectos de manejo de vida silvestre y desarrollo comunitario. Los beneficios podrían mejorar mediante información biológica para el manejo, mayor participatión local en la ubicación y operación de concesiones de caza y la promoción de estándares éticos para la cacería deportiva. Un sistema internacional de certificación de operaciones de cacería deportiva podría fortalecer esos avances.
Knowledge of factors affecting participation in, and satisfactions gained from, hunting is important yet unstudied among mourning dove hunters. We tested the multiple-satisfactions model of hunting and investigated effects of motivational factors and sociocultural characteristics on development and maintenance of dove hunting behavior using a mail survey of hunters in Alabama. Most Alabama hunters appeared motivated by multiple, primarily nonsuccess-based, satisfactions. Dove hunters were more strongly motivated by nonsuccess-based satisfactions and less by obtaining a bag limit than were other types of hunters. Childhood socialization was important in developing hunting behavior among both dove and nondove hunters. Early initiation into hunting and family tradition and mentoring were particularly important in developing dove hunting behavior. Attrition from dove hunting was low ( Keywords: ALABAMA; HUNTING; MOTIVATION; MOURNING DOVE; SATISFACTION; SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES Document Type: Review Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/108712001317151930 Publication date: April 1, 2001 $(document).ready(function() { var shortdescription = $(".originaldescription").text().replace(/\\&/g, '&').replace(/\\, '<').replace(/\\>/g, '>').replace(/\\t/g, ' ').replace(/\\n/g, ''); if (shortdescription.length > 350){ shortdescription = "" + shortdescription.substring(0,250) + "... more"; } $(".descriptionitem").prepend(shortdescription); $(".shortdescription a").click(function() { $(".shortdescription").hide(); $(".originaldescription").slideDown(); return false; }); }); Related content In this: publication By this: publisher In this Subject: Zoology , Ecology By this author: Hayslette, Steven E. ; Armstrong, James B. ; Mirarchi, Ralph E. GA_googleFillSlot("Horizontal_banner_bottom");
Wildlifers seldom write about ethics, yet ethical issues are among the most intractable of wildlife management issues. Society's value orientations about wildlife have been changing slowly over the last several decades. An increasingly urbanized and educated population no longer unequivocally supports wildlife management programs that tend to regard wildlife as utilitarian objects. State wildlife agencies and their employees have been slow to acknowledge and respond to social changes and accommodate them into wildlife management programs. As a result, traditional wildlife management hunting and trapping practices increasingly have become subjects of ballot initiatives. Younger, more idealistic employees often embrace and reflect wildlife protection philosophies, bringing them into conflict with agency administrators and traditional clients. Forced to choose between loyalty to ideals and loyalty to authority, many exit. Resolving ethical issues requires ethics rooted in fundamental democratic values. Wildlife agencies will learn to manage issues of wildlife ethics when they rediscover democracy.
Research into quality hunting experiences has, with few exceptions, employed quantitative assessment techniques. This study examines Idaho elk hunters’ own narrations, using a qualitative analysis procedure novel in the hunting literature, to describe the key characteristics of Idaho hunters’ quality rifle elk hunting experiences. Discernible patterns that emerged from the analysis resulted in 32 quality categories, supporting the contention that quality hunting experiences are made up of multiple factors. However, fewer salient factors per hunter were found. Although caution is advised against using frequencies for qualitative data as an indication of importance, the statistical sampling techniques used suggest that some confidence can be attributed to the relative degree of importance of the top ranked quality categories. They were, in order of frequency: seeing elk or elk sign, being in a natural setting, seeing few other hunters, seeing an abundance of elk, and harvesting an elk.
This essay supposes that the question of what treatment of animals is morally acceptable cannot be decided in any straightforward way by appeals to ‘equal consideration of interests’ or to animal rights. Instead it seeks to survey a variety of proposals as to how we ought to adjudicate interspecific conflicts of interests ‐ proposals that are both ‘speciesist’ and ‘non‐speciesist’ in nature. In the end one proposal is defended as the most reasonable one, and is claimed to provide a partial basis for developing an adequate theory of interspecific justice. In the course of this argument the challenge posed by radical critics of current treatment of animals (e.g. Tom Regan and Peter Singer) is considered. The schema of a theory developed here partly supports and partly conflicts with positions they have defended. Regarding the latter point it proposes a non‐anthropocentric basis for discounting the interests of sentient animals.
Most conclusions from general assessments of angler motivations indicate that noncatch motives are more important to anglers than catch motives. Such research usually assesses the general motivation structure by anglers. To assess both general and more context‐specific angler motivations, we surveyed the same anglers from northeastern Germany using two phases of a complementary survey design. First, a 1‐year diary was used to collect trip‐specific information; second, a personalized mail survey was used to elicit context‐specific motivation information. Anglers selected their most important motives for their most frequent trip–target species combination (i.e., context) from a list of 10 salient fishing motives. Anglers frequently cited catch motives as the most important across a range of target species, large‐bodied species such as northern pike Esox lucius being primarily associated with trophy fishing. Some species (such as small‐bodied cyprinids) were targeted for noncatch reasons, while others (such as European perch [also known as Eurasian perch] Perca fluviatilis ) attracted anglers seeking a multitude of psychological outcomes. Five distinct angler types were identified based on similarity of prime fishing motivation, namely, trophy‐seeking anglers; nontrophy, challenge‐seeking anglers; nature‐oriented anglers; meal‐sharing anglers; and social anglers. Members of these angler groups were similar in demographics and general angling behaviors but differed with respect to several indicators of angler specialization, indicating that committed anglers are more catch‐oriented than previously assumed.
Received November 12, 2010; accepted May 26, 2011
Increasing reports of human/cougar conflicts may suggest that cougars are increasing in the Pacific Northwest. We determined minimum relative densities and average fecundity, survival, and growth rate of an apparently increasing cougar population in northeastern Washington, USA; northern Idaho, USA; and southern British Columbia, Canada, from 1998 to 2003. Minimum relative densities declined from 1.47 cougars/100 km2 to 0.85 cougars/100 km2. We estimated average litter size at 2.53 kittens, interbirth interval at 18 months, proportion of reproductively successful females at 75%, and age at first parturition at 18 months for a maternity rate of 1.27 kittens/adult female/yr. Average survival rate for all radiocollared cougars was 59%: 77% for adult females, 33% for adult males, 34% for yearlings, and 57% for kittens. Hunting accounted for 92% of mortalities of radiocollared cougars. The annual stochastic growth rate of this population was λ = 0.80 (95% CI = 0.11). Contrary to accepted belief, our findings suggest that cougars in the Pacific Northwest are currently declining. Increased conflicts between cougars and humans in this area could be the result of the 1) very young age structure of the population caused by heavy hunting, 2) increased human intrusion into cougar habitat, 3) low level of social acceptance of cougars in the area, or 4) habituation of cougars to humans. To help preserve this population, we recommend reduced levels of exploitation, particularly for adult females, continuous monitoring, and collaborative efforts of managers from adjacent states and provinces.
1. Harvesting of large mammals is usually not random, and directional selection has been identified as the main cause of rapid evolution. However, selective harvesting in meat and recreational hunting cultures does not automatically imply directional selection for trait size.
2. Harvesting selectivity is more than a matter of hunter preference. Selection is influenced by management regulations, hunting methods, animal trait variance, behaviour and abundance. Most studies of hunter selection only report age- or sex-specific selection, or differences in trait size selection among hunting methods or groups of hunters, rather than trait size relative to the age-specific means required for directional selection.
3. Synthesis and applications. Managers aiming to avoid rapid evolution should not only consider directional selection and trophy hunting but also mitigate other important evolutionary forces such as harvesting intensity per se, and sexual selection processes that are affected by skewed sex ratios and age structures.
There is a lack of consensus among conservationists as to whether trophy hunting represents a legitimate conservation tool in Africa. Hunting advocates stress that trophy hunting can create incentives for conservation where ecotourism is not possible. We assessed the hunting preferences of hunting clients who have hunted or plan to hunt in Africa (n=150), and the perception among African hunting operators (n=127) of client preferences at two US hunting conventions to determine whether this assertion is justified. Clients are most interested in hunting in well-known East and southern African hunting destinations, but some trophy species attract hunters to remote and unstable countries that might not otherwise derive revenues from hunting. Clients are willing to hunt in areas lacking high densities of wildlife or attractive scenery, and where people and livestock occur, stressing the potential for trophy hunting to generate revenues where ecotourism may not be viable. Hunting clients are more averse to hunting under conditions whereby conservation objectives are compromised than operators realize, suggesting that client preferences could potentially drive positive change in the hunting industry, to the benefit of conservation. However, the preferences and attitudes of some clients likely form the basis of some of the problems currently associated with the hunting industry in Africa, stressing the need for an effective regulatory framework.
Theoretically based distinctions linked to measurable differences in appearance are described for three smiles: felt smiles (spontaneous expressions of positive emotion); false smiles (deliberate attempts to appear as if positive emotion is felt when it isn''t); and, miserable smiles (acknowledgements of feeling miserable but not intending to do much about it). Preliminary evidence supports some of the hypotheses about how these three kinds of smile differ.
Between 1999 and 2004 we undertook an ecological study of African lions (Panthera leo) in Hwange National Park, western Zimbabwe to measure the impact of sport-hunting beyond the park on the lion population within the park, using radio-telemetry and direct observation. 34 of 62 tagged lions died during the study (of which 24 were shot by sport hunters: 13 adult males, 5 adult females, 6 sub-adult males). Sport hunters in the safari areas surrounding the park killed 72% of tagged adult males from the study area. Over 30% of all males shot were sub-adult (<4 years). Hunting off-take of male lions doubled during 2001–2003 compared to levels in the three preceding years, which caused a decline in numbers of adult males in the population (from an adult sex ratio of 1:3 to 1:6 in favour of adult females). Home ranges made vacant by removal of adult males were filled by immigration of males from the park core. Infanticide was observed when new males entered prides. The proportion of male cubs increased between 1999 and 2004, which may have occurred to compensate for high adult male mortality.
This field study explored motivation and satisfaction dimensions of sightseeing tourists. For this purpose, 225 were tested for their motives before the day's tour and for their satisfactions after it. The data were collected on 10 different tour buses. The results indicated a considerable similarity between motivation and satisfaction dimensions, with knowledge seeking, social interaction, and escape emerging as important motive and satisfaction factors. This similarity led to a very high overall satisfaction with the tour. A group of tourists who came together by chance scored significantly higher on the knowledge-seeking motive and on five satisfaction dimensions than did the regular tour group and the convention group.RésuméLes visites guidées et la motivation et satisfaction des touristes. Cette enquête sur le terrain a étudié les éléments de motivation et satisfaction chez les touristes en visite guidée. Dans ce but, on a fait un sondage auprès de 225 touristes pour déterminer leur motivation avant la visite et leur satisfaction après. On a recueilli des informations dans dix cars touristiques. Les résultats ont indiqué qu'il y a un rapport considérable entre les éléments de motivation et satisfaction; la poursuite des connaissances culturelles, l'interaction sociale et l'évasion ont émergé comme des facteurs importants de motivation et de satisfaction. Cette ressemblance a mené à un haut niveau de satisfaction générale avec la visite. Un groupe de touristes qui s'est réuni par hasard accordait beaucoup plus d'importance à la recherche des connaissances culturelles et à cinq éléments de satisfaction que le groupe déjà constitué et le groupe du congrès.
Many species of animals face the continual problem of balancing the trade-off between reducing predation risks and maintaining
or increasing their reproductive fitness. The terms of the trade-off are often asymmetric: each separate behavioral decision
may lead to only a marginal increase in fitness, but may place the organism's entire future reproduction in jeopardy. Consequently,
the organism's reproductive value is an important component of most antipredator decision problems. In this paper reproductive
value is considered as an asset in need of protection. The “asset-protection principle” states that the larger the current
reproductive asset, the more important it becomes to protect it. Because reproductive value is usually age and condition dependent,
optimal antipredator behavior also often depends on these variables. I use a uniform modeling technique (dynamic programming) to address a variety of issues related to antipredator behavior
In three experiments, we investigated the spontaneous attention of perceivers to the nature of targets' facial expressions, specifically whether they were displaying an enjoyment or a non-enjoyment smile. Further, we investigated the social functions of sensitivity to smile type and the consequences of such sensitivity for subsequent interactions. Results demonstrated that perceivers did indeed spontaneously attend to smile type, especially in situations where issues of trust or cooperation were made salient. Further, this sensitivity had an impact both on the evaluations of the target individuals and the cooperative behaviour of individuals towards those displaying enjoyment and non-enjoyment smiles. Participants evaluated individuals displaying enjoyment smiles more positively than those displaying non-enjoyment smiles and had higher rates of cooperation with those displaying enjoyment smiles. These results are discussed in terms of the social functions of facial expressions.