Ethical concerns are at the heart of the ongoing debate on trophy hunting; however, so far, most studies have addressed the issue from a single ethical perspective. These studies, approaching the subject from different ethical perspectives, have reached different conclusions. For instance, those who support trophy hunting as a conservation strategy usually adopt a utilitarian perspective, while those who adopt a deontological perspective usually oppose it. The analysis presented in this paper challenges the ethical justification of trophy hunting based on a utilitarian perspective, and it also suggests that trophy hunting is problematic from the perspectives of both deontology and virtue theory. This paper supports a version of Bryan Norton's ‘convergence hypothesis’ (Norton, 1991). Although holism and anthropocentrism in environmental ethics are usually presented as fundamentally opposed views, Norton argued that their conclusions for policy converge, at least when a sufficiently broad and long‐range view of human interests are considered. Analogously, this paper proposes that, regarding trophy hunting, the implications of three major traditional perspectives in ethics (i.e. utilitarianism, deontology and virtue theory) may converge in opposition to the practice of trophy hunting. The final section of this paper recommends some ways authorities and policymakers can address these ethical concerns and presents a view of the future. A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Understanding social support for large carnivores’ recovery can guide policies governing human-predator interactions. We investigated the socio-psychological determinants of support for recovery of black bears, cougars, and gray wolves among residents of Illinois, USA. We contacted a random sample (n = 7,500) of Illinois residents using a repeat mail survey (34% response rate). Structural equation modeling results suggested that our respondents tend to rely more on mental shortcuts (i.e., emotions and social trust) than analytical mental processes (i.e., risk perception) in their judgments of large carnivores’ recovery. Findings of multigroup analysis suggested that similar psychological processes shape respondents’ support for recovery across species. However, among stakeholder groups, the findings implied a prominent role of trust in management agency for the public and hunters, whereas emotions were more influential in shaping hunters’ and livestock producers’ attitudes. We provide specific recommendations for management agencies to develop policies and conservation campaigns.

Insufficient funding is a major impediment to conservation efforts around the world. In the United States, a decline in hunting participation threatens sustainability of the “user‐pay, public benefit” model that has supported wildlife conservation for nearly 100 years, forcing wildlife management agencies to contemplate alternative funding strategies. We investigated support for potential funding options among diverse college students, a rapidly expanding and politically active voting bloc with a potentially powerful influence on the future of conservation. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states. Students preferred innovative approaches to conservation funding, with 72% supporting funding derived from industry sources (e.g., natural resource extraction companies), 63% supporting state sources (e.g., general sales tax), and 43% supporting conventional user‐based sources such as license fees and excise taxes associated with outdoor recreation activities (e.g., hunting). Findings emphasize the need to broaden the base of support for conservation funding and highlight the importance of considering the preferences and perspectives of young adults and other diverse beneficiaries of wildlife conservation.

Unprecedented climate change and ecosystem degradation require immediate action at individual and societal levels. It has been suggested that hunting, as a nature-based activity, can contribute to pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. However, social psychological mechanisms driving hunter engagement in pro-environmental behavior are less understood. We used a sample consisted of hunter and non-hunter students from a large southern U.S. university (n = 1,594) to investigate factors associated with intentions to engage in pro-environmental actions. Our results suggested that hunters generally express less pro-environmental intention than do non-hunters. Structural equation modeling showed that hunters’ domination value orientation may attenuate their pro-environmental self-identity as the main predictor of pro-environmental intention. Our findings also highlighted the role of connection with nature in fostering pro-environmental behavior. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and possible pathways to promote pro-environmental behavior among hunters.

Interactions between law enforcement agents in conservation (e.g., rangers) and illegal resource users (e.g., illegal hunters) can be violent and sometimes fatal, which negatively affects conservation efforts and people's well‐being. Models from social psychology, such as integrated threat theory (ITT) (intergroup interactions shape intergroup emotions, prejudices and perceived threats leading to hostile attitudes or behaviors between groups), are useful in addressing such interactions. Conservation approaches relying mainly on law enforcement have never been investigated using this framework. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected data from 282 rangers in protected and unprotected areas ( n = 50) in northern Iran. We applied Bayesian structural equation modeling in an assessment of rangers’ affective attitudes (i.e., emotions or feelings that shape attitudes toward a person or object) toward illegal hunters in an ITT framework. Rangers’ positive perceptions of illegal hunters were negatively associated with intergroup anxiety (emotional response to fear) and negative stereotypes about a hunter's personality, which mediated the relationship between negative contact and affective attitudes. This suggests that negative contact, such as verbal abuse, may lead rangers to perceive illegal hunters as arrogant or cruel, which likely forms a basis for perceived threats. Rangers’ positive contact with illegal hunters, such as playing or working together, likely lowered their perceived realistic threats (i.e., fear of property damage). Perceived realistic threats of rangers were positively associated with negative contacts (e.g., physical harm). The associations we identified suggest that relationships based on positive interactions between rangers and illegal hunters can reduce fear and prejudice. Thus, we suggest that rangers and hunters be provided with safe spaces to have positive interactions, which may help lower tension and develop cooperative conservation mechanisms.

In North America, legal hunting is considered a key component in wildlife management and conservation; however, hunters' relationships with ecosystem health and integrity are rarely explored. In this study, we recruited an online panel of hunters in the United States (n = 508) in 2018 to assess their opinions about hunting‐related practices that often negatively affect biodiversity and ecosystem health (i.e., exotic breeding, stock breeding, and game farming). We investigated the underlying socio‐psychological factors influencing hunters' opinions about these practices based on the value‐belief‐norm and identity theories. Hunter identity, personal norms, and awareness of the negative consequences on ecosystems are associated with opposition to hunting‐related practices that harm ecosystems. We suggest that outreach and education programs targeting hunters should focus on leveraging their existing identities and promoting awareness of the negative consequences of certain hunting practices on biodiversity and ecosystem health. By highlighting these consequences and emphasizing the role of ecosystem health and biodiversity in the long‐term sustainability of hunting opportunities, such programs can effectively encourage hunters to adopt ecosystem stewardship behaviors.