Effectiveness of a web-based informational intervention in changing white-tailed deer harvest intentions to support disease management

<p>Informational interventions are commonly used to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Incorporating interactive elements in a web-based framework can enhance such interventions. However, web-based informational interventions have not been applied to behaviors that aid agencies in the management of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based behavioral intervention at increasing the intention of both white-tailed deer hunters to harvest an additional doe and non-deer hunters to increase wild deer meat consumption. We developed a web app that illustrated the effect increasing hunter harvest and sharpshooter culling would have on the spread of CWD. We developed two versions of this web app; one version incorporated images of healthy and sick deer reflecting the outcomes of different management scenarios and another version without any deer image. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we designed a survey to evaluate the intention of deer hunters and non-deer hunters before and after using the web app. We found that deer hunter attitude and perceived behavioral control were positively related to intention to harvest an additional doe before using the web-app, but using the web-app did not change TPB constructs, including their intention to harvest. Non-deer hunter intention to increase venison consumption was positively related to perceived behavioral control, but using the web app did not change TPB constructs including their intention to increase consumption. Our results suggest that informational interventions demonstrating the connection between deer harvest, CWD spread, and future hunting opportunities are likely insufficient to change deer hunter and non-deer hunter behaviors that reduce the spread of CWD. Wildlife managers may need to consider alternative approaches beyond education and outreach to reduce deer densities, such as increasing hunter efficiency and sharpshooter culling when designing programs to control CWD spread in white-tailed deer populations.</p>