What does hunting market price reflect? The role of species, landscape and management

Abstract

Context Hunting transactions can be considered a composite good that includes various attributes or characteristics. Obtaining information regarding the utility derived from the different characteristics of the hunter’s bag might help elucidate the purchasing behaviour of hunters. This behaviour is, in turn, an important aspect to be considered by land managers in adaptive hunting management. Aims The present study attempts to identify the values given by hunters to species, landscape and management in the pricing of the hunter’s bag. Our analysis is focused on the hunting bag characteristics and adds to previous research the joint consideration of the amount and quality (sex, age classes and trophy) of various species in the hunter’s bag. Methods We use a dataset of 740 forest hunting estates at Andalucía (1 162 405 ha in the south of Spain) with an important mixed-species bag composition and where 225 game-hunting marketed transactions were declared by the hunting managers, including 13 541 hunting journeys. Hedonic-price analysis and mixed-effect models are used. Key results Our results showed that the composition of the harvested species (quantity and trophy of different species, sex and age classes), the activities related to harvesting and organisation of hunting events and landscape in hunting areas are relevant attributes in big-game market transactions. In small-game market transactions, species and landscape are the primary significant variables found. The latter variable plays a more important role in small game than in big game. Conclusions These findings indicated that hunting market values include, in addition to hunters’ recreational experience, ecological and management aspects with a broader social scope. Implications A further discussion regarding the possible conflict among hunter preferences, long-term game-management decisions and ecological goals is also provided.