New hunters' activities and attitudes in Shimane Prefecture

Abstract

Registered hunters in Shimane Prefecture decreased from 7,200 to 3,300 between 1976 and 1990, although the numbers stabilized thereafter. In 2002, one third of Shimane hunters were "new" (possessed hunting license 5 years or less), as opposed to "existing" hunters. We surveyed license applicants in 2001 (response rate 89.0%, 330 respondents), compared results with a 2001 survey of existing hunters (Ueda et al. 2004), and considered how changing hunter composition will affect wildlife management. License applicants were regarded as new hunters because of their high success rates on hunting examinations (89.5%). Most new hunters seek wild boar (95.8%), the ratio being larger than existing hunters (61.6%). The new hunters' objective was mainly to reduce agricultural damage (81.0%), and most sought only licenses to use traps (90.8%). These ratios were larger than existing hunters. One third of new hunters had no intention to hunt during hunting season. Traps require frequent patrolling, but more than half intended to hunt only one or two days a week. Recent recruitment of new hunters could further increase the ratio of wild boar hunters who use traps for nuisance control, although their activity does not appear to have a major impact on wild boar populations.