Predicting hunter beliefs about sharpshooting in controlling CWD in Illinois over time

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examined changes in perceived agency trust, risks to deer and humans, and beliefs about chronic wasting disease (CWD) management in Illinois between 2012 and 2022. Data were obtained from two surveys of resident deer hunters in 2012 (n = 5,663) and 2022 (n = 1,237). Trust in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and perceived risk to humans did not differ between the two years. The 2012 hunters, however, were more concerned about the risk to deer by CWD and thought hunters were effective in controlling the disease more than the 2022 hunters. The 2022 hunters were more likely to perceive negative impacts of CWD on deer, believe that the agency should do more to eliminate CWD from Illinois, and were neutral on sharpshooting. All six indices were used to predict beliefs about sharpshooting. For both 2012 (R 2 = 56%) and 2022 (R 2 = 49%), the belief indices consistently had larger coefficients than trust or risk.