000151604 001__ 151604 000151604 005__ 20251017144609.0 000151604 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1002/pan3.10770 000151604 0248_ $$2sideral$$a143249 000151604 037__ $$aART-2025-143249 000151604 041__ $$aeng 000151604 100__ $$aGaspar, Mario 000151604 245__ $$aThe demographic collapse of hunting in the Iberian Peninsula 000151604 260__ $$c2025 000151604 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000151604 5203_ $$aHunting is one of the oldest and most relevant extractive activities performed by humans in nature. Over the last century hunting has experienced profound changes in developed countries, shifting from a consumption to a recreational activity and declining in some countries. However, substantial quantitative information on these trends at large temporal scales, as well as the projection of the number of hunters and their demographic structure under future scenarios is lacking at regional scales. Here we (i) describe the current demography of hunters in a large portion of the Iberian Peninsula, (ii) quantify population and recruitment trends for the last five decades and (iii) starting from those trends, we project the number and structure of hunters for the following decades. At present, the studied hunting population, with nearly 600,000 hunters, is strongly ageing, with the most abundant cohort being that between 61 and 70 years, and its prevalence is eight times higher on the smallest towns than in the large cities. Over the last 15 years hunters have declined by 26%, while over the last 50 years it has declined by 45%. This trend is linked to a steady decline of recruitment of young hunters that has been overall reduced by 89% in the last 50 years. By 2050, if following average trends observed during the last five decades, hunters in the whole study area are expected to decrease by 70%, and the proportion of hunters aged over 60 will increase from 40% to 61%. Overall, our results indicate an ongoing collapse of the population of hunters in the Iberian Peninsula due to lack of recruitment, which began at least five decades ago. This collapse, together with other post-rural abandonment processes (e.g. livestock and wood-collection) is likely having a deep impact on wildlife populations and ecosystems, which is largely understudied. In this new post-abandonment state, approaches to environmental management should be adapted to accommodate these ongoing, long-term socio-ecological shifts. 000151604 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/FJC-2019-03896$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/FJC-2020-045938-I$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/FJC-2021-047885-I$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC-2017-22783$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/TED2021-132599B-C21 000151604 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc-nd$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es 000151604 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000151604 700__ $$aAcevedo, Pelayo 000151604 700__ $$aArrondo, Eneko 000151604 700__ $$aGarcía-Martínez, Ignacio 000151604 700__ $$aHerrero, Juan 000151604 700__ $$aPascual-Rico, Roberto 000151604 700__ $$aSánchez-Zapata, José A. 000151604 700__ $$aAnadón, José D. 000151604 773__ $$gEarly View (2025), [12 pp.]$$tPeople and Nature$$x2575-8314 000151604 8564_ $$s1342096$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151604/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000151604 8564_ $$s2094566$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/151604/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000151604 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:151604$$particulos$$pdriver 000151604 951__ $$a2025-10-17-14:16:21 000151604 980__ $$aARTICLE