‘Thrill Kill’ faculty research

What is it about young men, snowmobiles, and wildlife? Many people in Wisconsin were asking that question following last winter’s news reports about thrill killings of deer and waterfowl. Urban and Regional Studies faculty members Karen Dalke and Ray Hutchison will try to answer that question with the help of a research grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Their study, “A Socio-Cultural Understanding of Thrill Killing Behavior in Wisconsin,” will include interviews with persons involved in thrill-killing incidents over the last several years, as well as surveys of other populations to determine how frequently similar events may occur but are not reported.  The study will identify the larger social and cultural issues associated with thrill killing and highlight community and educational responses to the issue.   Dalke has presented and published papers on animal-human relationships at conferences in Australia, Finland, and the United States, and Drs. Dalke and Hutchison have collaborated on two studies (1993, 2006) of gang activity and violence in public schools in the Fox Valley.