The Effect of Chronic Wasting Disease on Resident Deer Hunting Permit Demand in Wisconsin

摘要

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects cervids across the world. While chronic wasting disease is not known to be transmissible to humans, there is increasing concern about chronic wasting disease risks, particularly among hunters who may contact and consume infected animals. We examine demand for resident deer hunting permits in Wisconsin from 1966 to 2015 to quantify the losses to deer hunters following the discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in 2002. We estimate that permit demand decreased by >5% following the discovery of the disease. Consumer surplus—or the dollar value of permits to Wisconsin deer hunters—declined by $96 million between 2002 and 2015, while permit revenues decreased by nearly $17 million. The effects of the disease’s presence slowly diminish over time. This is because total demand for permits would have declined over this period even in the absence of the disease. These findings highlight the need for joint management of both chronic wasting disease risks and hunter participation; intuitively, the economic value of protecting a resource declines with the number of use people that use it.