Consumer preferences for wild game meat: evidence from a hybrid choice model on wild boar meat in Italy

The increasing numbers of wild animals in Europe is leading, on the one hand, to growing problems stemming from their interaction with human activities. On the other, many European countries have still not developed national supply chains to market wild game. Instead, these supply chains could represent a win–win strategy in providing a sustainable alternative to production via intensive livestock farming and developing rural territories. Our aim was to understand consumer behaviour towards wild game meat. We conducted a choice experiment on wild boar meat on a sample of Italian consumers (625). The application of a hybrid model combining a structural equation model and a latent class analysis allowed us to identify the antecedents of attitude towards wild game meat and to analyse consumer choices by utilising attitude as an explanatory variable. The results provide useful suggestions to implement rural development policies and offer food for thought in the area of consumer behaviour.