Declining participation in hunting, especially among young adult hunters, affects the ability of state and federal agencies to achieve goals for wildlife management and decreases revenue for conservation. For wildlife agencies hoping to engage diverse audiences in hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts, university settings provide unique advantages: they contain millions of young adults who are developmentally primed to explore new activities, and they cultivate a social atmosphere where new identities can flourish. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states in the United States to explore R3 potential on college campuses and assess key demographic, social, and cognitive correlates of past and intended future hunting behavior. After weighting to account for demographic differences between our sample and the larger student population, 29% of students across all states had hunted in the past. Students with previous hunting experience were likely to be white, male, from rural areas or hunting families, and pursuing degrees related to natural resources. When we grouped students into 1 of 4 categories with respect to hunting (i.e., non-hunters [50%], potential hunters [22%], active hunters [26%], and lapsed hunters [3%]), comparisons revealed differences based on demographic attributes, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Compared to active hunters, potential hunters were more likely to be females or racial and ethnic minorities, and less likely to experience social support for hunting. Potential hunters valued game meat and altruistic reasons for hunting, but they faced unique constraints due to lack of hunting knowledge and skills. Findings provide insights for marketing and programming designed to achieve R3 objectives with a focus on university students. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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美国各地多元化的大学生揭示了招聘和保留猎人的有希望的途径

减少参与狩猎，尤其是年轻的成年猎人，会影响州和联邦机构实现野生动物管理目标的能力，并减少保护收入。对于希望在猎人招募、保留和重新激活 (R3) 工作中吸引不同受众的野生动物机构​​而言，大学环境提供了独特的优势：它们包含数百万在发展上准备探索新活动的年轻人，并且他们培养了一种社交氛围身份可以蓬勃发展。从 2018 年到 2020 年，我们对美国 22 个州的公立大学的 17,203 名本科生进行了调查，以探索大学校园中的 R3 潜力，并评估过去和预期未来狩猎行为的关键人口、社会和认知相关性。在考虑我们的样本与更大学生群体之间的人口统计学差异后，所有州 29% 的学生过去曾打猎。有狩猎经验的学生可能是白人、男性，来自农村地区或狩猎家庭，攻读与自然资源相关的学位。当我们根据狩猎将学生分为 4 个类别之一（即非狩猎者 [50%]、潜在狩猎者 [22%]、活跃狩猎者 [26%] 和退伍者狩猎者 [3%]）时，比较显示出差异基于人口统计属性、信念、态度和行为。与活跃的猎人相比，潜在的猎人更有可能是女性或种族和少数族裔，并且不太可能经历狩猎的社会支持。潜在的猎人重视野味和狩猎的利他理由，但由于缺乏狩猎知识和技能，他们面临着独特的限制。调查结果为旨在实现 R3 目标的营销和编程提供了见解，重点是大学生。© 2021 野生动物协会。