Investigating the alignment between stated motivations and revealed preferences for recreational hunting through a hedonic analysis of hunting leases

Existing theory proposes that motivation for recreational hunting is divided into domains of appreciation (nature experience), affiliation (social interaction), and achievement (hunting skills and yield outcome). As motives are known to impact public attitudes toward hunting, potential response biases might emerge when hunters self-report their own motivations. Analyzing data from 2,260 hunting leases in a hedonic model, we explore the alignment between hunters’ stated motivations and revealed preferences as reflected in actual hunting lease costs operationalized into the above three motivational domains. Our findings indicate that lease attributes associated with affiliation, like hunting cabins and larger consortium sizes, elevate lease prices comparatively more than achievement-oriented attributes, such as game feeding and shooting platforms. Additionally, by examining interaction effects, we identify that the minority of hunters, who are driven by achievement, are in alignment with their stated motivations and are willing to pay a premium for achievement-enhancing lease attributes.