Understanding local pig hunter values and practices as a means toward co-management of feral pigs (Sus scrofa; pua'a) in the Hawaiian Islands

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Ecology and Society 28(2): 32 htt.psf.l� sy/ r[32/ impacts of feral pigs across habitats and over time, as well as articulate Indigenous relationships with feral pigs (Robinson and Wallington 2012). In Sweden, innovative co -management programs for moose helped transition hunters and landowners to a role of ecosystem stewards, which increased hunter participation in management efforts (Lindgvist et al. 2014). Despite these successful outcomes, both studies documented challenges with establishing co -management arrangements, such as gaining government support for local -level management initiatives, ensuring Indigenous knowledge is integrated equitably into co -management arrangements, and maintaining adequate funding to support local monitoring efforts. To improve management outcomes for culturally valued invasive species, hunters and managers must understand the challenges of past co - management arrangements, particularly when culturally important invasive species are perceived differently by various community members. Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a common game species. Originally native to Eurasia, feral pigs inhabit many islands throughout Oceania, as well as every major continent except Antarctica (Barrios Garcia and Ballari 2012). Many government agencies around the world classify feral pigs as invasive species that pose major threats to the natural and agricultural environment, economy, and human health (Barrios -Garcia and Ballari 2012, Wehr et al. 2018, Risch et al. 2020, 2021). Feral pigs cause extensive environmental damage to island ecosystems because of trampling and uprooting of native plants, spreading invasive plant propagules through consumption, foraging on native birds and eggs, and altering soil fertility and nutrient cycling through rooting behavior (Diong 1982, Stone 1985, Browning et al. 2008). To enable many other species and ecosystem services valued by Indigenous people to persist, reducing the abundance of feral pig populations in sensitive ecosystems is extremely important. Indigenous Pacific Islanders traditionally placed substantial cultural value on pigs as food, as well as symbols of social, economic, and political power, while managing them in a way that minimized impacts to native ecosystems (Dening 1980, Schieffelin and Crittenden 1991, Kirch 2014, Luat-Hu`eu et al. 2021). Pigs have been a longstanding component of Hawai`i's social - ecological systems (Winter et al. 2018), following the arrival of Polynesians between 1000 and 1200 AD (Pearson et al. 1971, Kirch 2011), and were primarily domesticated and managed through husbandry practices, where Hawaiian families tended pigs in enclosures near their homesteads (Luat-Hu`eu et al. 2021). Pig hunting was not practiced in Hawaii until the 1850s, driven by the introduction of novel tools and land use practices, change in governance and land tenure, and changes in resource abundance (Luat-Hu`eu et al. 2021). Foreigners brought with them different breeds of pigs that interbred with Hawaiian pigs, increasing their size and reproductive output. Further, as the Hawaiian land tenure system diminished following the diversion of water for plantation agriculture, loss of 90% of Hawaiian people from introduced diseases, and changes in land management practices, pigs became feral across the landscape. Today, most pig populations in Hawaii are identified as feral, meaning that they originated from domestic stock, but have reverted from domesticity to become free-living, no longer depending on husbandry for sustenance or breeding (Pullar 1950, Kruska and Rohrs 1974). As a result, today feral pigs threaten Hawai`i's ecosystems, yet are also highly valued as a culturally important food source among Hawaiians and local communities (Lohr et al. 2014). The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is the main agency managing feral pigs on land owned by the state. The Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) under DLNR is mandated to manage feral pigs as both a game species for public hunting and as an invasive species that threatens ecosystems and biodiversity. All nonnative bird and mammal game species in the Hawaiian Islands were intentionally introduced for food and hunting purposes (Duffy and Lepczyk 2021). Game hunters wishing to hunt on state-owned lands and private lands (with permission) in Hawaii are required to obtain a hunting license from DLNR, which is achieved by passing a hunter safety education course. Hunting on private lands without permission and/or a hunting license is designated as hunting and is subject to legal prosecution by the landowner. The Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement (DOCARE) is the subsidiary agency mandated to enforce game hunting regulations set by the state. DLNR is legally mandated to protect and conserve natural and cultural resources in the Hawaiian Islands while simultaneously providing public hunting opportunities to local residents and U. S citizens for recreation (Ikagawa 2013). However, natural resource management planning regarding feral pigs has often failed to fully integrate the social -cultural values and practices of Hawaiians and local communities associated with feral pigs, leading to conflicts between pig hunters and agency resource managers (Adler 1995, Lohr et al. 2014). For example, in the 1990s when resource managers installed pig exclusion fences in a natural area reserve with minimal community input, hunters cut the fences to allow feral pigs into the reserve area (Burdick 2006, Warner and Kinslow 2013). The majority of research relating to feral pigs in the Hawaiian Islands has focused on the ecological component, with little attention to the social and cultural values associated with feral pigs and other game mammals. Qualitative research methods such as interviews are extremely valuable for exploring the views, beliefs, and motivations of individuals on a specific matter, in this case the hunting of feral pigs (Gill et al. 2008). However, few studies have used oral interviews to directly solicit local pig hunter perspectives. By conducting interviews with local pig hunters we aimed to answer two main research questions: (1) what are social - cultural values and practices of local pig hunters on Oahu and Maui; and (2) how can knowing hunter values and practices aid to improve policies and collaboration for feral pig management? Understanding the values and practices of local pig hunters may reduce conflicts and help establish effective co -management practices that respect diverse values of community members. METHODS Study site Interviews took place with hunters who resided on the islands of Oahu and Maui. Game mammals on the island of Oahu include feral pigs and feral goats, while the island of Maui has feral pigs, feral goats, and Axis deer (Axis axis). DOFAW provides public hunting opportunities through "public hunting areas" characterized as (1) game management areas; (2) forest reserves