Why New Brunswickers hunt (it may not be what you think)
Survey examines possible reasons for the decline in deer hunting since the 1980s
The number of deer hunting licences sold in New Brunswick is down 58 per cent since the 1980s, according to a recent study.
The New Brunswick Provincial Survey on Hunting examines possible reasons for the decline. It is based on a survey from more than 400 hunters across the province.
"Many people will point to the fact that there might be a strong correlation between the size of the population of white-tailed deer and hunting licence sales but that has not been shown yet," said Daniel Gautreau of School of Forestry at Universite de Moncton's Edmundston Campus, who helped prepare the report.
"We are interested in finding out why hunting in general is important for people in the province. And white-tailed deer hunters are part of that."
Dissatisfied with season
Gautreau believes one of the biggest reasons for the decline in deer hunters has to do with the season which generally runs for a few weeks in October and November.
"Most hunters are satisfied with the hunting seasons [for] moose, bear, small game. The exception is for deer hunting," he said.
"More than half of deer hunters actually stated they were dissatisfied with that hunting season."
The decline could also be linked to the small percentage of hunters who were successful — there was only a nine per cent success rate for white-tailed deer in 2015.
It was the fifth worst success rate of the last 50 years, according to the data from the Department of Energy and Resource Development.
"If many hunters have difficulty locating game, this would be a source of frustration," the hunting survey found.
Outdoor experience most important factor
However, hunters who responded to the survey indicated that hunting for the meat or for a trophy are two of the least popular motivators for the sport.
"That might be confusing to some people that aren't into hunting because when we look at magazines or TV shows regarding hunting, it's a lot about that big white-tailed deer or that big trophy moose. But in actuality, trophy hunting is not really important to hunters at all," Gautreau said.
The study suggests the top reasons for hunting are for people to get close to nature with family and friends, the challenge and excitement, to release stress from everyday life and to learn about wildlife.
The majority of respondents said they would like better forest management and enforcement of hunting regulations, Gautreau said.
with files from Shift N.B.