Less than 15 minutes of your time is all it will take to help. Maya Basdeo, graduate student researcher and member of the Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters board of directors, has created a survey titled “Targeting Conservation: A Hunter Survey”. This survey is part of a Master’s level research study supervised by Dr. Stephen D Murphy at the University of Waterloo, School of Environment, Resources & Sustainability.
So why are you getting this e-mail? Well, knowledge is power, and you have lots of it to offer. Your unique individual perspectives are valued and needed to gain a more accurate understanding of how hunters in Canada view and engage in conservation. Hunters are not typically represented in an accurate way by non-hunters, and there are few academic studies that address the relationship between hunters and conservation in Canada. Engaging hunters directly is the best possible way to fix that.
Your survey participation may help accomplish some of the following:
- Correct misconceptions about what hunters think and do about conservation.
- Fill an existing gap in academic and general literature about the relationship hunters in Canada have with conservation.
- Inform students and researchers interested in hunting and/or conservation.
- Provide a clearer definition of ‘conservation’ that aligns with today’s hunters.
- Provide insight to hunting and conservation communities and organizations about how best to engage with hunters about conservation issues.
- Reduce barriers for hunters to participate in conservation efforts.
The survey is anonymous and will remain open until November 15, 2023. For more information please visit the survey website (www.targetingconservation.com) or contact Maya Basdeo directly at maya.basdeo@uwaterloo.ca.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY
The survey data will be combined with interviews with expert hunter-conservationists, as well as existing academic literature about hunting and conservation in Canada into a full study titled “From the Mouths of Hunters: Towards A Better Understanding of the Relationship Between Hunters and Conservation Action in Canada” and which will be made available at a later date.
This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board.