Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hunt, Kevin

Committee Member

Minnish, Richard

Committee Member

Grado, Stephen

Date of Degree

12-15-2007

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Abstract

Feral hog distribution (Sus scrofa) has increased to 38 states due to high fecundity rates, an omnivorous diet, and translocation by humans; affecting various stakeholders. To assess stakeholder attitudes and feral hog distribution in the United States and within Mississippi, selfministered mail questionnaires were sent to district level state wildlife biologists nationwide (n = 614) and to Mississippi Farm Bureau county presidents (FBCP; n = 79). I used the Wildlife Stakeholder Acceptance Capacity theory to assess what factors (e.g., species presence, perceived density, stakeholder land usage, risk belief, attitudes toward the species) influenced stakeholder preferences for a specific future population trend (i.e., increase or decrease). Wildlife biologists were influenced by attitudes and occupational risk beliefs. Influential factors of FBCP attitudes could not be assessed because no producers wanted an increase in future hog populations.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16341

Comments

stakeholder attitudes||distribution||feral hog||Mississippi||Wildlife Stakeholder Acceptance Capacity

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