Big Game, Big Decisions, and Big Government: Understanding the Effects of Commodification on The Hunting and Management of White-Tailed Deer and Feral Hogs in Texas

Keywords: chronic wasting disease, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, big government, conspiracy, wildlife management
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 62

Abstract

My research examines how primary stakeholders interact with Texas’ most harvested big game animals: white-tailed deer, which are highly managed and increasingly impacted by Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and feral hogs, which impact the landscape but effectively have no management strategy. Drawing on literature in political geography, wildlife governance, and disease landscapes, and framed by contemporary Covid-19 narratives and regional distrust of big government, my research asks: How is commodification affecting the hunting and management of white-tailed deer and feral hogs?

To examine how local stakeholders manage CWD and feral hogs, I conducted interviews among 21 stakeholders, including hunters, game wardens, game ranch managers, and deer breeders, in Texas Wildlife District 3, 4, and 8. Interviews asked about CWD, feral hogs, local impacts, engagement with experts, risk perception, and how state policies might affect human interactions with these animals. Preliminary analysis shows that contrary to my expectations, not all participants viewed feral hogs negatively, but saw them as profit-making ventures. Inversely, how stakeholders contend with CWD varies by the degree that they are impacted by state-level, CWD containment regulations. While the majority of participants identified deer breeding operations as the greatest risk for spreading CWD, deer breeders themselves, not surprisingly, perceived CWD as either low risk or a big government conspiracy. When put in the context of anti-Covid-19 restriction narratives and an ideological distrust of big government, my preliminary findings offer insights into the shifting roles of government, wildlife management, and disease vectors in the post-neoliberal state.