Trends in consumptive recreation and the wildlife profession

We explore how the wildlife management profession is being impacted by and impacting on the trends in consumptive recreation, specifically hunting. Hu nters had prominent roles in forming wildlife conservation programs and the wildlife profession. A declining hunting subculture in wildlife management institutions and society, coupled with increased diversity of wildlife sta keholders, has reduced the influence of hunters and hunting on the professi on. We surveyed senior faculty at 14 United States (U.S.) universities with major fisheries and wildlife programs across the 7 sections of The Wildlif e Society to characterize academic changes relative to student interests an d attitudes about consumptive uses. We summarized survey data on attitudes and values of wildlife professionals toward consumptive uses and American t rends and attitudes toward hunting. Curricula and course content in the uni versities we surveyed have adapted to changing expectations in academia and the profession over the past 2 decades by incorporating changes in pedagog y and adding subjects such as conservation biology and human dimensions. A corresponding reduction in emphasis on other subjects, most notably species harvest manage ment, also has occurred. The proportion of the U.S, populat ion who hunts has declined in recent decades and the stakeholder base of wi ldlife management agencies has been broadening, causing agencies and profes sionals to become more responsive to nonconsumptive societal wildlife inter ests. We suggest that as the influence of hunters on management agencies de clines, hunting policies may become more aligned with broader societal mand ates than with hunters' desires. Future public policies on consumptive uses may tend to restrict them more to management and subsistence purposes. We recommend that the wildlife management profession engage in dialogue and in vestigations to determine what the implications are to the profession and t o wildlife conservation of a declining hunting subculture.