Hunting Participation in United States Continues Steady Decline

Preliminary data from a new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals that the number of adult hunters in the United States has fallen by four percent since 2001. Continuing a declining trend that began in the 1970s, the hunter population in the U.S. fell from 13 million adult Americans in 2001 to 12.5 million in 2006.

During this same period, the U.S. population increased by five percent, from 285 million to 300 million. Hunters now constitute only four percent of the U.S. population 16 and older.

“The reports reveal that hunting has been in steady decline since the mid-1970s, and sure as shooting, the numbers are down again,” said Wayne Pacelle, The Humane Society of the United States’ president and CEO. “And while the number of hunters is in decline—because fewer young people are taking up the hobby—there has been consistent growth in wildlife watching and other so-called ‘non-consumptive’ wildlife activities. The world is changing, and the numbers reflect the change.”

According to the USFWS survey, between 1996 and 2001 the number of wildlife watchers – adults who feed, photograph, and observe wildlife – rose to 71.1 million from 66.1 million five years earlier. There are nearly six times as many outdoor enthusiasts who shoot America’s wildlife with cameras than those aiming their shotguns.

Wildlife watchers also contribute significantly to the economy. In 2006, the USWFS survey reports that wildlife watchers outspent hunters by almost two to one: $45 billion compared to $23 billion.

Facts

• The USFWS has conducted the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation every five years since 1955. The preliminary 2006 survey is online at http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2006.pdf.
• According to the survey, 12.5 million adult Americans hunted in 2006 with 10.7 million pursuing big game animals (down 2 percent since 2001), 4.8 million hunting small game animals (down 12 percent), 2.3 hunting migratory birds (down 22 percent), and 1.1 million pursuing other animals such as coyote and groundhogs (up 8 percent)

The 2006 ratio of wildlife watchers to hunters is nearly 12 percent higher than in 2001 (5.7 to 1 compared to 5.1 to 1) and is more than 26 percent higher than in 1996 (4.5 to 1).

The HSUS’ recently released Humane Index (humaneindex.org) ranked the nation’s largest 25 metro areas on 12 criteria, including the ratio of hunters to wildlife watchers. Californians led the ranking on this criterion (20.9 to 1) with Texans coming in last (2.7 to 1), according to the 2001 USFWS survey (2006 geographic data not yet available).

The USFWS will release more comprehensive results of the 2006 survey in the fall of 2007.

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