Motivations and motivational typologies of Tennessee small game hunters

Context Participation declines in small game hunting are worrying because of the subsequent decline in conservation funding generated from hunting and social tradition. To address declines, it is critical to understand the motivations of small game hunters. Literature on hunter motivations has primarily focused on big game and waterfowl hunters, which may not apply to small game hunters. Aims The aim of this article was to understand what motivates small game hunters to participate and to identify existing motivational-based typologies. Methods Following the end of the 2019–2020 small game hunting season, a sample of 15,115 Tennessee hunters and trappers were asked to participate in a mix-mode questionnaire. Key results A total of 3994 individuals responded to the questionnaire and 1440 reported that they participated in the 2019–2020 hunting and trapping season, of which 634 hunted small game. A multivariate cluster analysis identified the following four motivational clusters: overall enthusiasts (39%), social-nature hunters (22%), less-engaged hunters (11%), and social-experiential hunters (28%). Conclusion Our findings showed that Tennessee small game hunters possess a variety of motivations beyond harvesting an animal. The importance of various motivations differed among clusters. Implications Rather than managing for the ‘average small game hunter,’ agencies should aim to provide experiences that satisfy a variety of motivations. Because appreciative and affiliative motivations were important to most clusters, agencies may want to focus on addressing these motivations because these are more likely to meet the desires of multiple groups.