Assessing the Impact of the Economic Structure and Ecological Consequences on the Distribution of Illegal Hunting against Terrestrial Species

Abstract

ABSTRACT Illegal hunting threatens conservation, but little research has explored structural correlates of illegal hunting trends. The leading theoretical understanding of illegal hunting is from a situational crime perspective. These situational and individual studies provide vital information on the decision-making of a wildlife offender and help improve enforcement strategies. However, correlates explaining the concentration of illegal hunting across multiple locations has yet to be explored. There has not been any criminological development to examine the overall geographical distribution of illegal hunting across a nation, territory, or state. The current study applies a green criminological perspective to analyze how the production institutions of the economy correlates with the trends of illegal hunting of terrestrial species across Texas counties. Results indicate that the treadmill of production does relate to illegal hunting, suggesting that there is conflict between the economy and public over the use of the wilderness.