Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) recreational hunting values

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Kerr

Context Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) are a valued game resource that can cause environmental harm, requiring control of tahr populations below policy-prescribed thresholds. Effective game management requires understanding of the benefits to hunters of game resources and how hunter behaviours change in response to changes in hunt attributes, including game-animal densities, hunt duration, presence of other hunters and travel distance. Aims To identify the value of recreational Himalayan tahr hunting and how that value is affected by changes in hunt attributes for different types of hunter, thereby identifying the value of tahr as a recreational resource and opportunities for enhancing recreational hunting experiences. Methods Hunter differences were explored through factor analysis and cluster analysis, which identified three different groups of hunters on the basis of motivations and hunting activity. Preferences for hunt attributes were explored with a choice experiment that used a pivot design around actual travel distances to measure the relative importance of hunt-related attributes. Latent class analysis of choice experiment responses identified three discrete groups of hunters who sought different activity settings. Key results Results showed the high value of recreational tahr hunting for all three groups of tahr hunters. Tahr hunters were uniformly focussed on trophy bull tahr, and reduced probabilities of securing a trophy would diminish recreational hunting effort significantly. Hunting activity was not affected by adult female tahr populations. These results suggest that managing tahr to low densities, but improving trophy potential, can provide concurrent environmental and recreational benefits. Conclusions Changes in hunt attributes, such as trophy potential and presence of other hunters, have significant effects on hunt benefits, site choice and the amount of recreational tahr hunting. Implications The present study identified potential gains from active management of Himalayan tahr and tahr hunters.

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey N. Kerr ◽  
Walt Abell

Context New Zealand’s Game Animal Council has the opportunity to manage game animals. However, effective management requires understanding of the benefits to hunters of hunting-game resources and how those benefits and behaviours change in response to changes in hunt attributes, including game-animal densities, hunt duration, presence of other hunters and travel distance. Aims To identify different typologies of recreational sika deer (Cervus nippon) hunters and to measure the importance of salient hunt attributes for the different groups, to identify opportunities for enhancing recreational hunting experiences. Methods We explored hunter differences through factor analysis and cluster analysis, identifying three different groups of hunters on the basis of motivations and frequency of hunting. Preferences for hunt attributes were explored with a choice experiment that used a pivot design around actual travel distances to measure the relative importance of hunt-related attributes. Latent class analysis of choice-experiment responses identified three discrete groups of hunters who sought different activity settings. Key Results Results showed the high value of recreational hunting, and identified significant heterogeneity in hunter preference. Membership of the different clusters identified in the cluster analysis and motivations for hunting were not significant predictors of activity-setting preferences, whereas frequency of hunting was. One group of locals took short-duration hunts that were of low personal benefit. The other groups preferred longer hunts and received high personal benefits. Trophy potential was a significant determinant of the choice of hunt location. Conclusions Changes in hunt attributes, such as deer density, trophy potential and presence of other hunters have significant effects on hunt benefits and site choice. Implications Sika deer hunting is currently open access, which diminishes hunter benefits because of goal interference both within and among different groups of hunters. The present study identified potential gains from active management of sika deer and sika deer hunters.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 746
Author(s):  
Pascal Ohlhausen ◽  
Nina Langen

Sustainable meal choices in the out-of-home catering market are essential to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. This study investigated consumers’ acceptance of different features that help service providers to work more sustainably. For this purpose, data of a choice experiment and a supporting online questionnaire were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA) and the data of n = 373 employees. Examined attributes in the choice experiment were menu variety, menu type, ordering system, ingredients and price. LCA led to four consumer segments: variety seekers (27.6%), spontaneous decisionmakers—vegetarian (25.7%), spontaneous decisionmakers—meat (24.1%) and vegetarians/vegans (22.6%). Results showed that consumers in all four segments expected to have the choice between different menus in company canteens. Moreover, they preferred spontaneous choice to preordering. Both preferences hamper sustainable production and consumption in the catering sector.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosaria Viscecchia ◽  
Giuseppe Nocella ◽  
Biagia De Devitiis ◽  
Francesco Bimbo ◽  
Domenico Carlucci ◽  
...  

The aim of this paper is to investigate consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for functional mozzarella cheese whose health benefits (reduced fat and enrichment in omega-3) are communicated by using nutrition claims (article 8) and health claims (articles 13 and 14) of the EU Regulation 1924/2006. In order to achieve the stated objective a choice survey was developed and administered to a sample of Italian respondents. The product attributes and attribute levels included in the choice experiment were obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders working on the development of this new product in the Italian region of Puglia. Results show that many participants were not aware of functional food. Marketing segmentation performed via latent class analysis indicates that the development of this hypothetical product should be based on the addition of naturally enriched omega-3. In terms of health communication under Regulation 1924/2006, heterogeneity of preferences of the nine identified segments reveals that respondents have a clear preference for products from the Puglia region, for the combined nutrition claim over single nutrition claims and for the reduction of disease health claim (article 14) over the health claim (article 13). In monetary terms, willingness to pay for health claims is higher than nutrition claims.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Meyerding ◽  
Anna-Lena Schaffmann ◽  
Mira Lehberger

The climate impact of tomato production is an important issue in the sustainability of tomatoes, especially in northern European countries, such as Germany. Communicating the climate impact of products to the consumer is difficult and the design of the label might be the key to its success. For this reason, the present study compares the utilities of six different carbon footprint labels to evaluate which label design works best for the consumer. 598 consumers were surveyed in a representative online choice-experiment. The participants had to choose between tomatoes with different product characteristics, such as origin, price, organic label, and carbon footprint label. A split sample approach was used where each sub-sample with around n = 100 saw a different carbon footprint label design in the choice-experiment. The results suggest that qualitative carbon footprint labels using color-coded traffic light labelling are superior to those that claim climate impact reduction or neutrality, including those that provide more details regarding the climate impact of the product and the company. The latent class analysis with four consumer segments shows that a significant proportion of consumers in Germany would consider a carbon footprint label as an important characteristic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrad Farris ◽  
Trey Malone ◽  
Lindon J. Robison ◽  
Nikki L. Rothwell

AbstractWhile many studies have evaluated consumer demand for local foods, fewer studies have focused on the mechanism that has created the positive willingness-to-pay for local foods. This article compares the role of geographic distance and attachment value in consumer preferences for locally produced hard cider. Consumer valuations are estimated via a “branded” discrete choice experiment where the respondents chose between an in-state hard cider, an out-of-state hard cider, and a no buy option. Our measure of travel distance is based on the optimal driving route between each consumer's GPS location and the locations of the cideries while our attachment value measure is based on social capital theory. This allows us to analyze individual-specific travel distance heterogeneity in consumer choice as it relates to attachment value. Based on a latent class logit model estimated from a discrete choice experiment with 441 participants, we show that attachment value is higher for a cider produced within the state than for a cider produced outside the state. Furthermore, we show that increases in attachment value increase demand for locally produced hard cider more than an equal increase in attachment value for non-locally produced hard cider. Our findings are consistent with “local” preferences based on geopolitical boundaries (e.g., the state of Michigan) and not distance. (JEL Classifications: B55, M3, Q13, C83)


2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 276-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Clauss ◽  
J. Hummel ◽  
F. Vercammen ◽  
W. J. Streich

Author(s):  
Ekin Birol ◽  
Dorene Asare-Marfo ◽  
Bhushana Karandikar ◽  
Devesh Roy ◽  
Michael Tedla Diressie

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops. Design/methodology/approach – A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied include days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households from three purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet. Findings – The results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the study is that it uses a stated preference choice experiment method, which suffers from hypothetical bias. At the time of implementing this study biofortified high-iron pearl millet varieties were not yet developed, therefore the authors could not have implemented revealed preference elicitation methods with real products and payment. Originality/value – The method used (stated preference choice experiment method) is commonly used to value non-market goods such as environmental goods and products that are not yet in the market. It’s application to agriculture and in developing countries is increasing. As far as the authors know this is the first choice experiment implemented to investigate farmer/consumer preferences for biofortified crops. The study presents valuable information for development and delivery of biofortified crops for reducing micronutrient deficiencies.


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