Motivations to participate in hunting and angling: a comparison among preferred activities and state of residence

Authors

Matthew P. Hinrichs, University of NebraskaFollow
Mark P. Vrtiska, Nebraska Game and Parks CommissionFollow
Mark Pegg, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Christopher J. Chizinski, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Christopher J. Chizinski http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9294-2588

Date of this Version

2021

Citation

Published in Human Dimensions of Wildlife 2021, Vol. 26, No. 6, pp. 576–595.

doi:10.1080/10871209.2020.1858208

Comments

Copyright © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Used by permission.

Abstract

Motivations for hunting and fishing extend beyond harvesting game and include social, psychological, emotional, and physical benefits. We used data from a web-based questionnaire to compare relationships between preferred hunting or fishing activity types, state of residence, and motivations of hunters and anglers across the central United States (U.S.). Exploratory factor analysis yielded four motivation factors: nature, social, food, and challenge. Differences in terms of state were negligible across all motivation factors (η²_p < .01), indicating similarity across states. Nature (η²_p = .01) and social (η²_p < .01) factors were the first and second most important factors across activity types. We observed larger differences among the challenge (η²_p = .03), and food (η²_p = .15) factors, primarily driven by big game hunters. Big game hunters rated the food motivation factor greater than the other activity types. Overall, our results indicate that there might be a greater universality in these motivation factors among activity types and locations in the U.S