Sylvilagus Aquaticus
Member
http://www.wfaa.com/cgi-bin/bi/gold_print.cgi
I could have told them this without the study.
Regards,
Rabbit.
==================
National study debunks myth about youth and hunting
09:02 AM CST on Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Associated Press
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - For years, state wildlife officials worried that young people were losing interest in hunting because schools were teaching it was a negative sport.
Now, a national survey suggests interest is alive and well among the young. The federally funded survey of attitudes toward hunting and fishing among the young found that hunting is rarely mentioned in the classroom. Consequently, students know little about the sport, the survey found.
"A common misconception among hunters has been that the classroom was a breeding ground for anti-hunting doctrine," said Mike Berger, wildlife division director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times for a story in Tuesday's editions.
"In reality," Berger said, "the study showed, kids get very little exposure to hunting at school. I believe this shows clearly that we have an opportunity and a mandate to do a better job of educating our youth about hunting and wildlife conservation."
More than 2,000 children between 8 and 18 years old were surveyed for the study by researchers at Responsive Management, a Virginia-based market research firm. The survey found that 58 percent of children support hunting, while 44 percent said they have an interest in going hunting. One in five said they were very interested in going hunting.
The results, released last month during a state symposium on hunting heritage, represent good news for wildlife officials because hunting plays an integral part in conservation management, according to the Parks and Wildlife Department.
Children who hunt or fish tend to have greater knowledge of wildlife issues, the study found. The study also showed that 92 percent of children who hunt come from hunting families. However, only 25 percent of children who come from hunting families went hunting in the past year.
Indeed, state wildlife officials said that for many years the number of hunting licenses issued has declined. The study suggested the that the expense of hunting might partly be to blame, especially if someone who hunts does not own property and has to pay for a hunting lease.
"The leases are expensive," said April Mitchell of Rockport, whose two sons hunt. "It's becoming a rich man's sport." Mitchell's sons, Clayton Winn, 15, and Trey Winn, 18, usually wait to go to their father's land in Uvalde so they can hunt.
To increase hunting knowledge among children, the state has tried to recruit hunters by integrating hunter education into high school curricula, said Steve Hall, the Parks and Wildlife Department's education director.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dallas/newthishour/stories/010604dnnathunting.115f0df2a.html
I could have told them this without the study.
Regards,
Rabbit.
==================
National study debunks myth about youth and hunting
09:02 AM CST on Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Associated Press
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - For years, state wildlife officials worried that young people were losing interest in hunting because schools were teaching it was a negative sport.
Now, a national survey suggests interest is alive and well among the young. The federally funded survey of attitudes toward hunting and fishing among the young found that hunting is rarely mentioned in the classroom. Consequently, students know little about the sport, the survey found.
"A common misconception among hunters has been that the classroom was a breeding ground for anti-hunting doctrine," said Mike Berger, wildlife division director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times for a story in Tuesday's editions.
"In reality," Berger said, "the study showed, kids get very little exposure to hunting at school. I believe this shows clearly that we have an opportunity and a mandate to do a better job of educating our youth about hunting and wildlife conservation."
More than 2,000 children between 8 and 18 years old were surveyed for the study by researchers at Responsive Management, a Virginia-based market research firm. The survey found that 58 percent of children support hunting, while 44 percent said they have an interest in going hunting. One in five said they were very interested in going hunting.
The results, released last month during a state symposium on hunting heritage, represent good news for wildlife officials because hunting plays an integral part in conservation management, according to the Parks and Wildlife Department.
Children who hunt or fish tend to have greater knowledge of wildlife issues, the study found. The study also showed that 92 percent of children who hunt come from hunting families. However, only 25 percent of children who come from hunting families went hunting in the past year.
Indeed, state wildlife officials said that for many years the number of hunting licenses issued has declined. The study suggested the that the expense of hunting might partly be to blame, especially if someone who hunts does not own property and has to pay for a hunting lease.
"The leases are expensive," said April Mitchell of Rockport, whose two sons hunt. "It's becoming a rich man's sport." Mitchell's sons, Clayton Winn, 15, and Trey Winn, 18, usually wait to go to their father's land in Uvalde so they can hunt.
To increase hunting knowledge among children, the state has tried to recruit hunters by integrating hunter education into high school curricula, said Steve Hall, the Parks and Wildlife Department's education director.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dallas/newthishour/stories/010604dnnathunting.115f0df2a.html
