Hunter Education Research Articles

Treestrand-Related Injuries Outnumber Projectile-Related Injuries in Arkansas Hunters, 1993-2022.

Epidemiologic data on hunting-related injuries is sparse. Most published studies in this arena come from case reports or case series from a trauma department or state trauma registry. Relatively few of the studies have attempted to calculate rates of injury by demographic characteristics or hunting-related activities. In this study, we summarize the epidemiologic trends in hunting-related injuries in Arkansas over the last 30 years. A descriptive analysis of hunter injury data collected by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 1993 to 2022 was performed. Analyses showed that the overall number of hunting-related injuries decreased by 0.16 per 100,000 licensees per year during the study period (P=0.0009). Projectile-related injuries decreased by 0.24 per 100,000 licensees (P=0.00001), and treestand-related injuries increased by 0.06 per 100,000 licensees (P=0.02) during the same time (both trends P<0.00001). treestand-related injuries now account for two thirds of all hunting-related injuries reported to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Among hunters subject to hunter education certification mandates, compliance was 48.7%. Although projectile-related hunting injuries have decreased in Arkansas in the last 30 years, treestand-related hunting injuries have increased. These injuries are largely preventable if the hunter follows treestand safety recommendations (such as using a body harness and tether at all times when off the ground), as recommended by the Treestand Manufacturers of America. In addition, implementing strategies to improve compliance with hunter education certification also may help reduce injury rates.

Towards an evidence‐informed strategy for communicating lead ammunition risks

AbstractLead hunting ammunition is a key source of lead exposure for wildlife and humans who eat wild game. To improve the effectiveness of lead ammunition risk communication, and avoid unintended negative effects from poorly conceived messages, we examined how New York State hunter education instructors view the lead issue. We conducted in‐depth interviews with instructors from 5 New York State regions from September 2020 to February 2021, which generated qualitative data on instructors' knowledge, beliefs, and opinions. We classified instructors into 3 groups: (i) concerned advocates, (ii) resistant skeptics, or (iii) ambivalent educators. Concerned advocates had substantial, accurate knowledge of the lead issue, as judged by the investigators, and a strong desire to avoid lead ammunition. Resistant skeptics believed lead ammunition risks are insignificant, exaggerated, or already well‐managed, and strongly resisted using nonlead alternatives. Ambivalent educators self‐reported limited knowledge of the lead issue or its significance and a general ambivalence, or even apathy, towards switching to nonlead alternatives. Across groups, instructors made clear they were (i) concerned about the higher price and lower availability of nonlead ammunition, (ii) uncertain about the relative performance of lead versus nonlead ammunition, and (iii) strongly opposed to legislation and regulation. Instructors also strongly believed that education and effective communication offer the best path forward, although most admitted rarely discussing the toxic effects of lead ammunition in class. We recommend that state hunter education program managers update their curricula and instructor training courses to include a module on the wildlife and human health lead ammunition issue. We also recommend that state and federal regulators cooperate strategically on communicating and managing lead ammunition risks to better address the issue and avoid unintended, unwanted outcomes.

Regulations and hunter preference affect mountain goat harvest and horn length

Wildlife management attempts to balance consumptive and non‐consumptive values to manage hunting opportunities, considering population resilience. Mountain goats Oreamnos americanus are particularly sensitive to harvest. Using data from 33 792 mountain goats harvested in British Columbia (BC), Canada, between 1977 and 2019, we performed Bayesian regressions to examine the effect of regulations (limited entry hunting (LEH) or general open season (GOS)) on yearly harvest and harvest sex ratios. We also investigated temporal trends and the effect of licensed hunter residency (resident in British Columbia, or not) on harvest sex ratios. We then examined how horn length of harvested mountain goats was influenced by sex, year of harvest, age and mountain range. The more restrictive LEH regulations generally reduced harvest of mountain goats. The annual proportion of males harvested appeared independent of regulation and increased over time. Non‐resident hunters harvested a greater proportion of males compared to resident hunters. The combined length of the first and second horn growth increments decreased slightly with age at harvest for males but increased for females, suggesting a possible very weak hunter selection for males with rapid early horn growth and possibly against lactating females. Our study supports LEH regulations and hunter education to distinguish sex and age as key tools for mountain goat harvest management. Similar tools could be considered to manage other ungulates that are sensitive to harvest.

Evaluating how Swedish hunters value content in hunter education classes

ABSTRACT 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.

Learning from hunter education volunteers’ experiences

ABSTRACT Hunter education (HE) is offered in all 50 states, with oversight provided by state wildlife agencies (SWAs). The vast majority of HE courses are taught by volunteers. Recruiting and retaining volunteers to meet the demand for HE courses are growing concerns among SWAs. Insufficient information exists about volunteer instructors’ motivations, experiences, and satisfactions – all of which may affect recruitment and retention. Using the volunteer process model as the theoretical framework for a mixed-methods study, 38 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with current and former instructors in New York, followed by a mail survey administered to active instructors (n = 2,126). Findings indicated that volunteers are motivated to teach HE to sustain the tradition of hunting and create safe hunters. Those motivations, coupled with positive experiences teaching in teams, corresponded with instructor recruitment and long-term retention. Unclear roles, limited programmatic influence, and strained relationships were negatively associated with volunteer retention.

“Tied to the Land”: Climate Change Activism Among U.S. Hunters and Fishers

This paper investigates climate change activism among sportsmen and sportswomen, or hunters and fishers—a politically conservative group with historically deep roots to environmental conservation. Recently members of this community have created an NGO that focuses solely on climate change action—Conservation Hawks—and several other long-standing organizations have begun to include climate communication and activism within their mission. This article draws on fieldwork conducted throughout the rural western U.S., including ethnographic interviews with sportsmen/sportswomen, participant observation in hunter education courses and conservation events, and publicly-available media produced by hunting-oriented conservation organizations. Using an ethnographic and discourse analytic approach, I find that three primary discursive practices are particularly important within hunting and fishing community—a performed closeness to wildlife and wild places, a privileging of experiential and embodied epistemologies, and a valorization of the past wilderness. In both interviews and sportsmen-oriented media, these discourses can be drawn on when creating doubt and climate skepticism. Increasingly, however, activist groups use the same rhetorical strategies to promote climate change action. I argue that such shared discursive practices can thus mobilize collective identities, challenge political polarization, and create new political subjectivities around climate change in the rural western United States. I also argue that these discursive practices shape the actions portrayed as reasonable responses to the climate crisis within this community. This analysis thus illuminates climate activism within an understudied group, showing the depth of the civic movement on climate change. It also specifically highlights the importance of shared discursive practices to both climate skepticism and climate activism among one politically-conservative group in the United States, rural white hunters and fishers.

Brown bear (Ursus arctos) attacks resulting in human casualties in Scandinavia 1977-2016; management implications and recommendations.

Human persecution and habitat loss have endangered large carnivore populations worldwide, but some are recovering, exacerbating old conflicts. Carnivores can injure and kill people; the most dramatic form of wildlife-human conflict. In Scandinavia, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population increased from ~500 bears in 1977 to ~3300 in 2008, with an increase in injuries, fatalities, and public fear of bear attacks. We reviewed media coverage and interviewed victims to explore how bear population trends, hunter education, and other factors may have influenced the number of injuries and fatalities in Scandinavia from 1977 to 2016. We found 42 incidents with 42 injuries and 2 fatalities; 42 were adult men, one was an adult woman conducting forestry work, and one was a boy skiing off-piste. Thirty-three adult men were hunting bears, moose, or small game, often with a hunting dog, and 26 had shot at the bear at 8±11 m before injury. Eleven nonhunters were conducting forestry work, inspecting a hunting area, picking berries, tending livestock, hiking, harassing a denned bear, and one person was killed outside his house at night. Eight of the 11 incidents of nonhunters involved female bears with cubs; three of these family groups were in dens and two were on carcasses. The annual number of hunters injured/killed was mostly influenced by the increase in the bear population size. The pattern was similar regarding injuries/fatalities to other outdoor users, but the relation with the bear population size was weaker than for hunters, and the null model was equally supported. Bear physiology at denning may make encounters with bears more risky in the fall, when bears show prehibernation behavior. Awareness and education efforts, especially among hunters, seem important to ensure human safety. Recreationists and forestry workers should avoid dense vegetation or make noise to warn bears of their presence.

Michigan Hunter Education Instructors’ Attitudes, Beliefs and Knowledge toward Environmental and Ecological Systems

Michigan Hunter Education Instructors’ Attitudes, Beliefs and Knowledge toward Environmental and Ecological Systems Michael W. Everett, Matt R. Raven Abstract Departments of natural resources are stressed to adapt to meet current societal and management pressures of the 21st century and ensure the long-term viability of wildlife and wildlife management for future populations. Michigan has gained an elite reputation as a national leader for abundant fishing and hunting opportunities. While the necessary skill-sets and knowledge are changing for new hunters, little research exists on Michigan Hunter Education (MHE) Instructors and their beliefs and knowledge about the environment and ecosystems as it relates to educating future hunters. The purpose of this study was to establish baseline attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of environmental and ecological systems among a subset of MHE instructors. The survey measured demographics and Michigan Hunter Education instructor ecological world view as defined by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) at the 2015 MHE Academy. This was a descriptive/correlational research study. Socio-demographic variables had limited effect on relationships between environmental concerns and attitudes toward management of ecosystems. Further, MHEinstructors held an anthropocentric worldview and an alternative ecological paradigm.However, there were strong correlations between MHE instructors NEP scores and Scale Items related to understanding the: (a) Reality of limits to growth, (b) Possibility of eco-crisis, and (c) Fragility of nature‟s balance. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v7n2a1

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in American Black Bears ( Ursus americanus ) of the Central Appalachians, USA.

We assessed Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in 53 free-ranging American black bears ( Ursus americanus ) in the Central Appalachian Mountains, US. Seroprevalence was 62% with no difference between males and females or between juvenile and adult bears. Wildlife agencies should consider warnings in hunter education programs to reduce the chances for human infection from this source.

High seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in elk (Cervus canadensis) of the central Appalachians, USA.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important protozoan parasite of mammals that impacts animal health and behavior. Although this parasite has been documented in several cervid species, including red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Europe, little is known about T. gondii impacts on the closely related North American counterpart, the elk (wapiti, Cervus canadensis), which has increased in number and expanded in range during the past century. We assessed seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies using a modified agglutination test (MAT) (1:25 titer) and blood collected from 142 free-ranging elk in Kentucky, USA, where the species was reintroduced during 1997-2002 after over a century of absence. Eighty of 142 (56.3%) elks were seropositive for T. gondii, but we found no infection or titer differences between sexes (U=2146, P=0.128). However, odds of T. gondii infection significantly increased with elk age (β=0.429, P=0.001) by a factor of 1.54 (95% CI 1.19-1.99), and titer increased commensurate with age (JT=3071, P<0.001). High prevalence of T. gondii infection in elk of this region may be explained by sympatry with two primary hosts, the bobcat and domestic cat, as well as shed oocysts in the soil of this relatively wet and humid region. We suggest that wildlife agency personnel incorporate warnings about proper elk meat preparation into their hunter education outreach programs and literature to reduce the chances for human infection from consuming contaminated venison.

How Wildlife Management Agencies and Hunting Organizations Frame Ethical Hunting in the United States

Given that many wildlife management agencies consider hunting to be central to wildlife conservation, a growing body of research describes ethical hunting using characterization framing (created by outsiders). This article describes an identity frame (created by insiders) of ethical hunting in the United States, based on analysis of hunter education manuals and official statements of hunting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Similar themes permeated texts from both sources (e.g., obeying law, fair chase). NGOs, however, placed significantly more emphasis on being skilled (15% vs. 6%) and being motivated by experiencing nature (10% vs. 2%), whereas government agencies placed significantly more emphasis on respecting landowners (28% vs. 15%). Agencies may frame ethical hunting as more socially interdependent and rule abiding because they perceive a need to prioritize government authority (law) and property owner interests. These findings highlight a need for identity frames focusing on how hunting impacts biodiversity and humane treatment of animals.

A Comparison of 18th Century and Contemporary Surgical Training

John Hunter was an archetypal 18th-century surgeon and one of the world's foremost pioneering surgeons. At a time when physicians were concerned with rebalancing the four humours of ill health, chiefly by bloodletting and blistering, Hunter set out to 'systematically question every established process'. He is hence accredited with leading the surgical profession towards a scientific pursuit of excellence following his simple rules of observation and recording. Many today would agree that nurture is as important as nature; we can therefore compare Hunter's education with the current UK surgical curriculum.

Demographic transition among hunters: a temporal analysis of hunter recruitment dedication and motives in Denmark

Context In many countries, hunting has emerged as a major source of funding for wildlife conservation and research or habitat acquisition. In some countries, recent declines in recruitment of hunters have generated concerns about the consequences of the rapid demographic change within society in general, and among hunters in particular. Gaining a better understanding of how these demographic changes influence dedication to and motivation for hunting has therefore become an important task. Aims Our aims included documenting the demographic transition among Danish hunters, and identifying correlates of hunter recruitment age, motivations and dedication. Methods We addressed these aims using a national survey of Danish hunters in 2000 (n = 1186) and 2006 (n = 701). Survey data were analysed using multiple regression models. Key results Whereas recruitment numbers remained stable, the average age of recruitment for hunters increased from 21 to 34 between 1984 and 2006, and the percentage of new hunters younger than 20 declined from 63% to 19% during the same period. Respondents who hunted to experience nature were recruited at older ages than other hunters. Recruitment age was negatively related to number of days hunting per year and relative importance placed on hunting as a recreational activity, and positively related to being recruited by friends, female gender, being married, and having an urban childhood. Conclusions The global demographic transition towards an older and more urban populace may drive a change in hunter demographics rather than a decline of hunting. Implications The present study suggests that hunting can persist in the face of rapid demographic change. However, the study also indicates several important structural barriers for new hunters, favouring those hunters being economically most well off and leading to a decline in hunting dedication. To meet these challenges, the study suggests that modifications will be needed in hunter education programs and hunter recruitment campaigns, so as to maintain hunting as a significant positive factor within wildlife conservation.

Deer and elk hunter recruitment, retention, and participation trends in Montana

AbstractBig game hunting is the most popular type of hunting in the United States, and deer and elk hunting are the most popular type of hunting in Montana. Similar to other states, deer and elk hunting also generates most of the revenue spent on wildlife conservation by the state of Montana. Although nationwide trends indicate a concerning decline in hunter participation, the trends in license sales and hunter participation within most states have not received as much attention. We investigated trends in resident deer and elk license sales in Montana using existing licensing databases. We then estimated hunter recruitment, hunter participation, and license purchasing probabilities using hunter education and licensing databases. We employed a multi‐state mark–recapture model and 248,819 records of deer and elk license purchasing habits for individual Montana residents during 2002–2007. We used matrix population models to examine the relative influence of these parameters on trends in license sales and hunter participation. Resident deer and elk license sales increased 4% in Montana during 2002–2007. We found that males had greater recruitment rates, retention rates, and license purchasing probabilities than females, and that young adults had lesser license purchasing probabilities than other age classes. Based on analyses of matrix population models, trends in license sales in Montana are most influenced by middle‐aged and baby boomer male license purchase probabilities. Trends in hunter participation are positively influenced by recruitment and retention in all male age classes, with the smallest predicted effects arising from recruitment of young adult males. Our results suggest that a focus on older age class males with programs designed to increase hunter recruitment, retention, and license purchase probabilities may have similar or larger effects on trends in license sales and hunter participation in Montana than programs directed at youth. Our analyses also provide a framework by which trends in hunter recruitment, retention, and license purchasing habits can be objectively quantified in order to inform and evaluate hunter recruitment, retention, and license purchase habit programs. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Comparisons Between Hunter Education Instructors' and Hunters' Behaviors

This study compared hunter education instructors' (HEI) (n = 806) and deer hunters' (DH) (n = 396) views of hunting safety practices, with an emphasis on hunting from elevated stands. Data were obtained from convenience samples of both groups. HEI self-reported better safety practices than DH on 9 of 14 survey items. A high percentage of both groups (HEI = 14%, DH = 32%), however, reported wearing a fall-arrest device less than 10% of time. Questions regarding the use of a fall arrest during ascending and descending were significantly different between groups (χ2 = 67.75, p < .001). However, both HEI and DH (HEI = ∼41%, DH = ∼68%,) reported having used a fall-arrest device (ascending and descending) less than 10% of the time. Employing engineering controls in addition to administrative safety controls may further enhance elevated stand safety.

A Trial of an All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Education Video in a Community-Based Hunter Education Program

All-terrain vehicle (ATV) injury is an increasingly serious problem, particularly among rural youth. There have been repeated calls for ATV safety education, but little study regarding optimal methods or content for such education. The purpose of this study was to determine if an ATV safety video was effective in increasing ATV safety knowledge when used in a community-based statewide hunter education program. During the baseline phase, surveys focusing on ATV safety were distributed to students in the Arkansas hunter safety program in 2006. In the intervention phase a year later, an ATV safety video on DVD was provided for use in required hunter education courses across Arkansas. The same survey was administered to hunter education students before and after the course. In the baseline phase, 1,641 precourse and 1,374 postcourse surveys were returned and analyzed. In the intervention phase, 708 precourse and 694 postcourse surveys were completed. Student knowledge of ATV safety after watching the video was higher than in preintervention classes. Knowledge of appropriate helmet usage increased from 95% to 98.8% (P < .0001). Awareness of the importance of not carrying a passenger behind the driver increased from 59.5% to 91.1% (P < .0001). Awareness of importance of hands-on ATV rider training increased from 82.1% to 92.4% (P < .0001). A brief ATV safety video used in a hunter education course increased ATV safety knowledge on most measures. A statewide hunter education program appears to be a useful venue for ATV safety education.

Lead Poisoning and the Reintroduction of the California Condor in Northern Arizona

Since 1996, The Peregrine Fund has released California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) in the Grand Canyon region of northern Arizona with the goal of establishing a self-sustaining population, disjunct from other released populations in California and Baja California. A free-ranging population of more than 60 individuals now ranges within northern Arizona and southern Utah and has produced 9 wild young. The most frequent cause of death is lead poisoning from the ingestion of lead bullet fragments and shotgun pellets in the remains of gun-killed animals. In response, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has effectively reduced lead occurrence within the foraging range of the condors through hunter education and the promotion of nonlead ammunition. Most hunters have participated in the program. Throughout the course of the reintroduction effort, veterinary science and application have played essential roles in diagnosing fatalities and treating lead-exposed condors, a species with such a low natural reproductive rate that every adult is significant to the population.

Community-Based Wildlife Management: A Case Study of Sika Deer in Japan

The Japanese hunter population is declining, while human–wildlife conflicts (e.g., damage by overabundant sika deer) have become an issue in suburban and rural areas. Beginning in 2004, a community-based deer management program was initiated by a local nongovernmental organization in collaboration with stakeholders in Nishiokoppe Village, Hokkaido, Japan. The goal was to integrate deer management with a contribution to the local economy by attracting visitor hunters and to develop a hunter education program. For the first 3 years, 60 hunters made 136 visits, hunted 337 days, and harvested 280 deer, while 173 persons attended the hands-on hunter education programs that can help recruit younger hunters. The programs generated 191,000 USD during the years, providing employment for several local residents. We suggest that a combination of recreational hunting and hunter education in rural areas can promote community-based wildlife management in a highly developed and high density society where hunting participation is declining.

Harlequin Ducks in the Canadian Maritime Provinces

Abstract Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) are a relatively rare species in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Recent confirmed breeding records are restricted to northern New Brunswick. Sightings of small numbers of birds during the molting and staging periods occur in all three provinces. It is estimated that New Brunswick supports as many as 200 wintering Harlequin Ducks, and almost 600 winter off the coast of Nova Scotia, although due to the extent of coast and occasional sightings of Harlequin Ducks from previously unknown locations, it is likely that these are minimum estimates, particularly for Nova Scotia. Few trend data are available in the Maritimes, but available information suggests an increase in the last five years. Hunting, both intentional and unintentional, still occurs; hunter education and enforcement to stop the take of this species could be worthwhile. Coastal development, including vacation home building and aquaculture sites, are occurring in places where Harlequin Ducks win...

Population characteristics of a central Appalachian white-tailed deer herd

Reliable estimates of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population parameters are needed for effective population management. We used radiotelemetry to compare survival and cause-specific mortality rates between male and female white-tailed deer and present reproductive data for a high-density deer herd in the central Appalachians of West Virginia during February 1999–May 2002. We recorded 343 winter deer captures. Our capture rate of 78 fawns/100 adult females was similar to visual observations of known fawns and adult female deer during winter. In-utero reproductive rates of adults (≥1 year old) was 138 fawns: 100 females, based on a sample of 44 female deer. We radiomonitored 148 female and 43 male deer during the 3-year study. Yearling male annual mortality rates for human-induced and natural mortality were 0.63 (SD = 0.09) and 0.12 (SD = 0.12), respectively. Conversely, among yearling females, annual mortality rates for human-induced and natural mortality were 0.09 (SD = 0.06) and 0.05 (SD = 0.03), respectively. Adult male annual mortality rates for human-induced and natural mortality were 0.73 (SD = 0.16) and 0.00, respectively, whereas adult female annual mortality rates for human-induced and natural mortality were 0.04 (SD = 0.01) and 0.08 (SD = 0.02), respectively. Our observed survival, mortality, capture, and reproductive data are characteristic of a population shaped by moderate fawn recruitment and excessive harvest of yearling male deer. We recommend a reduction in female deer to promote forest regeneration and protect biodiversity in this region. We believe this can best be achieved by liberalizing antlerless harvest regulations, through hunter education and corporate landowner incentive programs.