Recreational killing of wild animals can foster environmental stewardship

Shephard, Samuel; von Essen, Erica; Gieser, Thorsten; List, Charles J.; Arlinghaus, Robert

doi:10.1038/s41893-024-01379-7

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, hunters who also fished had comparable (or higher) values to the general population (i.e., recreating at least 2 activities). Our results provide a more nuanced view on the dominance hypothesis [ 3 ]–alongside similar research of hunting-birdwatching [ 56 ]–providing additional evidence that it is the diversity of interaction with nature and not necessarily the dominance over nature itself that may be most important in influencing perceived value [ 17 ]. Notably, our results support other findings that messaging on a specific issue (e.g., ocean versus terrestrial) is not as important in predicting conservation support, but rather connection to nature in general in multifaceted ways [ 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Indeed, personal experiences in general can have an oversized impact on people’s concern about the environment [ 13 , 14 ]. For example, how people engage with nature through various recreational activities (e.g, hunting, fishing, hiking) differ and can influence perceived benefit or value of a place or animal [ 15 – 17 ]. Such activities, especially hunting, fishing, and access to state parks, fund governmental conservation programs, but do not necessarily capture the full dimension of how people view conservation needs (or impacts) and how to financially address those needs [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public conservation connection and support between ocean and terrestrial systems in the United States

Froehlich,

Mizuta,

Wilson

2024

PLoS ONE

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Terrestrial and ocean ecosystems are increasingly under threat from an array of anthropogenic pressures. And while threats mount, how people view and value nature is changing. In the United States (U.S.) in particular, there is a shift away from viewing nature as something to ‘dominate,’ as evidenced in the decline in hunting. However, it is unclear if or how opinions around environmental issues and conservation need might differ when comparing ocean versus terrestrial ecosystems, especially given the prevalence and continued importance of wild capture fishing in the U.S. We employed two national parallel surveys, one focused on oceans, the other land, receiving responses from nearly every state in the U.S. (N = 1,973). While we found only slight, but statistically significant more concern for ocean habitats and animals over terrestrial ecosystems, this did not translate to increased willingness to monetarily support more ocean conservation actions. Using Random Forest models, we also found the best predictor of conservation need was feeling most impacted by environmental issues personally (self and/or community), regardless of ecosystem type. In fact, land versus sea (survey) had the lowest rank in the models, underscoring the importance of general nature-based interactions. Instead, the number of outdoor recreational activities was a highly ranked variable explaining the level of reported impact to self/community, with people who participate in 2 or more activities scoring higher levels of impact, on average. Notably, people who hunt and fish, versus only do one or the other, reported higher levels of impact and participated in more activities overall, providing a more nuanced finding regarding the nature ‘dominance hypothesis.’ Voting, not political affiliation, was also important in explaining responses, and governmental mechanisms to fund conservation were favored over voluntary. Overall, our results add to the strong existing literature that access and connection to nature is key, but uniquely broad connection may “float all boats,” especially when diversified.

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