2016 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 23-29
There has been a decline in the number of hunters in Gifu Prefecture since the mid-1970s. Since the wildlife management department of Gifu prefectural government is currently making efforts to recruit more hunters, we felt that it would be helpful to understand the aspirations and attitudes of new hunters. We conducted a questionnaire survey among the people who applied for the hunting license examination between 2012 and 2014. There were 768 respondents in all for the three years. The main objective of the respondents in obtaining the license was to participate in nuisance control for reducing agricultural and/or ecosystem damages caused by the wild boar (Sus scrofa) and sika deer (Cervus nippon) by adopting box/leg-snare trap hunting. The results of the survey revealed that many respondents expected to learn hunting skills as early as possible and then participate in nuisance control; however, they preferred not to invest much money in hunting activities. Moreover, they mention that they will quit hunting when there are no more agricultural damages. Based on these findings, we suggest that an effective measure to support new hunters would be to provide them opportunities to acquire hunting skills through training. We also suggest that there is a need to modify the municipal regulations for wildlife management so that new hunters are enabled to participate in nuisance control.
