Individuals - Responsive

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information, unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0579-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 13 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collected. Send comments regarding this burden statement or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to APHIS.PRA@usda.gov.		OMB Approved 0579-XXXX EXP: XX/202X

Interactions with Deer Questionnaire

You are invited to take part in a research study funded by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) about human-deer interactions in [the study site].

As part of this study, we will be investigating residents’ experiences, concerns, and management preferences related to deer in your community. In doing so, we hope to better understand how and why people interact with deer in and around their communities.

You have been identified as a potential participant in the study based on your residency close to [the study site]. We believe that your experience and knowledge will be helpful in informing current and future deer management and deer-related disease surveillance in the state.

If you agree to take part in the study, you will be asked to respond to a series of short questions about human-deer interactions in your area. The questionnaire will take less than 15 minutes to complete.

You will receive $20 as a token of appreciation upon completion of the questionnaire.

Participation is voluntary. You can refuse to take part or stop at any time without penalty. You may opt out of any activities you do not wish to participate in for any reason without penalty. Your decision to participate in the study will have no impact on future coordination or research efforts through the University of Minnesota.

Any time information is collected; there is a potential risk of loss of privacy. Every effort will be made to keep your information private; however, this cannot be guaranteed.

All information you provide will be kept private to the degree permitted by the technology being used. All participants have been assigned randomly a numeric code to act as identifiers in place of names and personnel identifiers. These identifiers will be stored as a separate list and not linked to any data collected as part of this study. Also, with appropriate privacy protections, we might use information that we collect during this study for other research or share it with other researchers without additional consent from you. Any future research reports, future data use, or publication manuscripts will have all personally identifiable information removed.

If you have questions about this research, please feel free to contact me at smi01220@umn.edu.

You indicate that you voluntarily agree to participate in this research study by submitting the survey.

Part I. Interactions with deer near your home

Q1. When and how often have you or a member of your household seen deer near your home in the last year? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week or more
Autumn (September-November)	1	2	3	4	5
Winter (December-February)	1	2	3	4	5
Spring (March-May)	1	2	3	4	5
Summer (June-August)	1	2	3	4	5

Q2. Have you or a member of your household put out a birdfeeder near your home in the last year?

q YES q NO (Skip to Q3)

Q2a. How often have you or a member of your household put out a birdfeeder near your home in the last year? (Please circle one response for each.)

Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week or more
1	2	3	4	5

Q3. Have you or a member of your household left out food or water for wild animals near your home in the last year (not including birdfeeders)?

q YES q NO (Skip to Q4)

Q3a. How often have you or a member of your household left out food or water for wild animals near your home (not including birdfeeders) in the last year? (Please circle one response for each.)

Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week or more
1	2	3	4	5

Q4. Have you or a member of your household touched or handfed a live deer near your home?

q YES q NO (Skip to Q5)

Q4a. How often have you or a member of your household touched or handfed a live deer near your home in the last year? (Please circle one response for each.)

Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week or more
1	2	3	4	5

Q5. Have you or a member of your household done any of the following near your home in the last year?

(Please check ALL that apply.)

	Yes	No
Put up fencing or other barriers to keep deer off your property.	q	q
Touched or moved a fawn that seemed alone or abandoned.	q	q
Used deer repellants (mothballs, ammonia) on your property.	q	q
Planted a vegetable or flower garden.	q	q
Owned a cat that routinely goes outdoors.	q	q
Kept a compost pile.	q	q
Left out salt licks or used other attractants for deer.	q	q

Part II. Interactions with deer away from home

Q6. Have you come within 5 feet of a live deer in an area away from your home (e.g. Public park) ?

q YES q NO (skip to Q8)

Q6a. Where and how often have you come within 5 feet of a live deer in an area away from your home? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week
Private property you own	1	2	3	4	5
Private property you don’t own	1	2	3	4	5
A community or local park	1	2	3	4	5
A state or national park	1	2	3	4	5

Q7. Have you touched or handfed a live deer in an area away from your home?

q YES q NO (skip to Q8)

Q7a. Where and how often have you touched or handfed a live deer in an area away from your home? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Never	Once a year	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week
Private property you own	1	2	3	4	5
Private property you don’t own	1	2	3	4	5
A community or local park	1	2	3	4	5
A state or national park	1	2	3	4	5

Q8. Have you left out food or water for deer in an area away from your home?

q YES q NO (skip to Q9)

Q8a. Where and how often have you left out food or water for deer in an area away from your home? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Never	Once a season	Once a month	Once a week	More than once a week
Private property you own	1	2	3	4	5
Private property you don’t own	1	2	3	4	5
A community or local park	1	2	3	4	5
A state or national park	1	2	3	4	5

Q9. Have you gone deer hunting during any of the last five years (2020-2024 seasons)?

q YES q NO (skip to Q11)

Q10. Have you done any of the following during any of the last five years (2020-2024 seasons)?

(Please check ALL that apply.)

q Personally processed a deer that you killed.	q Field dressed a deer that you killed.
q Used attractants or other methods to attract deer to your hunting spot.	q Been close (< 5 feet) to a live deer that you didn’t kill.

Part III. Encounters with deer

Q11. If you encountered a deer fawn near your home that seemed abandoned, how likely or unlikely would you be to take each of the following actions? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Very unlikely	Unlikely	Neutral	Likely	Very likely
Leave the fawn alone.	1	2	3	4	5
Call a local wildlife manager.	1	2	3	4	5
Move the fawn to a safe location.	1	2	3	4	5
Leave out food or water for the fawn.	1	2	3	4	5

Q12. If deer regularly visited the area near your home, how likely or unlikely would you be to take each of the following actions? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Very unlikely	Unlikely	Neutral	Likely	Very likely
Do nothing.	1	2	3	4	5
Use deterrents to keep the deer away.	1	2	3	4	5
Try to touch or handfeed the deer.	1	2	3	4	5
Leave out food or water for the deer.	1	2	3	4	5

Part IV. Concerns about deer

Q13. If you had a close encounter with a deer (<5 feet), to what extent would you feel…

(Please circle one response for each.)

	None of this feeling		Some of this feeling		A lot of this feeling
Fear	1	2	3	4	5
Excitement	1	2	3	4	5
Worry	1	2	3	4	5
Disgust	1	2	3	4	5
Awe	1	2	3	4	5

Q14. How concerned are you about each of the following potential risks posed by living with deer in your community? (Please circle one response for each.)

How concerned are you that deer in your community will…	Not at all concerned		Somewhat concerned		Very concerned
…spread disease to humans.	1	2	3	4	5
…spread disease to pets or livestock.	1	2	3	4	5
…increase risk of vehicle collisions.	1	2	3	4	5
…act aggressively towards you or your family.	1	2	3	4	5
…cause personal property damage.	1	2	3	4	5

Q15. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

(Please circle one response for each.)

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
Providing food for deer is essential for their survival.	1	2	3	4	5
It is important to provide supplemental food for deer, especially in winter.	1	2	3	4	5
Feeding deer disrupts their natural behavior and diet.	1	2	3	4	5

Part V. Humans and wildlife

Q16. Ideas on how humans and the natural world should relate to each other can differ for every person. Using the guiding image below, please indicate which level of hierarchical arrangement between humans and the natural world best represents your own preference. (Please circle one response.)

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Not at all hierarchical						Very hierarchical

Q17. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

(Please circle one response for each.)

	Strongly disagree	Somewhat disagree	Neutral	Slightly agree	Strongly agree
Humans should assert dominance over the natural world.	1	2	3	4	5
People should only care about species that provide direct benefits to humans.	1	2	3	4	5
The world would be a better place if humans treated other animals more humanely.	1	2	3	4	5
Human lives are more valuable than the lives of other animals.	1	2	3	4	5
The value of wildlife is primarily based on its usefulness to humans.	1	2	3	4	5
Economic growth is more important than preserving wild spaces.	1	2	3	4	5
In a conflict between human needs and wildlife conservation, human needs should always come first.	1	2	3	4	5

Q18. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

(Please circle one response for each.)

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
It upsets me to see wild animals suffer.	1	2	3	4	5
I have a strong connection to wild animals.	1	2	3	4	5
I feel like I can sense when wild animals are healthy, happy, or feel safe.	1	2	3	4	5
I think it is important for people to help wild animals that are hungry or injured.	1	2	3	4	5

Q19. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

(Please circle one response for each.)

Wild animals…	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
…have thoughts and feelings.	1	2	3	4	5
…have a sense of right and wrong.	1	2	3	4	5
…have personalities.	1	2	3	4	5
…experience emotions similar to humans.	1	2	3	4	5

Part VI. Encounters with deer near your home

Q20. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

(Please circle one response for each.)

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
I feel informed about how my actions affect the behavior or health of deer in my area.	1	2	3	4	5
I feel knowledgeable about living with deer in my area.	1	2	3	4	5
If I wanted to attract deer near my home, I feel confident I would be able to do so.	1	2	3	4	5
The presence of deer near my home adds excitement to my daily routine.	1	2	3	4	5
Observing deer near my home provides me with new and unique experiences.	1	2	3	4	5
I enjoy having deer near my home.	1	2	3	4	5

Q21. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
I feel a strong sense of attachment to the deer that live near my home.	1	2	3	4	5
The deer that live near my home are important to me.	1	2	3	4	5
I don’t care much about the deer that live near my home.	1	2	3	4	5

Part VII. Future interactions with deer

Q22. If asked, how likely or unlikely are you to voluntarily do the following?

(Please circle one response for each.)

	Very unlikely	Unlikely	Neutral	Likely	Very Likely
Maintain a safe distance when encountering deer.	1	2	3	4	5
Not leave out a bird feeder or bird bath.	1	2	3	4	5
Avoid feeding wild animals near your home.	1	2	3	4	5
Put up fencing or use deterrents to keep deer away from your property.	1	2	3	4	5
If gardening, adopt practices to make your garden less attractive to deer.	1	2	3	4	5
Put garbage or compost in animal-proof containers.	1	2	3	4	5
Call a local wildlife manager if you saw a deer that looked sick or injured.	1	2	3	4	5

Q23. How supportive or unsupportive are you of the following potential strategies for managing urban or suburban deer populations? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Very unsupportive	Somewhat unsupportive	Neutral	Somewhat supportive	Very supportive
Professional sharpshooting to reduce deer densities.	1	2	3	4	5
Excluding deer from private property or sensitive habitats using fencing or netting.	1	2	3	4	5
Prohibition of supplemental feeding (bird feeders, corn, salt blocks) on public and private property.	1	2	3	4	5
Sterilizing male deer to reduce deer reproduction rates.	1	2	3	4	5
Urban archery or crossbow hunting to reduce deer densities.	1	2	3	4	5
Reducing speed limits in areas where deer are known to cross roads or busy infrastructure.	1	2	3	4	5

Part VIII. Your interests

Q24. To what extent do you identify with each of the following labels? (Please circle one response for each.)

	Not at all like me	Very little like me	Somewhat like me	Moderately like me	Extremely like me
Hunter	1	2	3	4	5
Environmentalist	1	2	3	4	5
Wildlife enthusiast	1	2	3	4	5
Conservationist	1	2	3	4	5

Q25. Which of the following activities have you participated in the last year? (Check all that apply)

q Deer hunting	q Hiking
q Other hunting or trapping	q Fishing
q Wildlife watching/photography	q Tent or RV camping
q Feeding wildlife	q Cross country skiing
q Mountain/gravel biking	q Snowmobile or ATV riding
q Other: __________________	q None of the above

Q26. How many years have you lived at your current residence? ____________ years

Q27. What is your age? ______________