**4. Conclusions**

According to the data presented in this study, despite the increased interest in hunting in recent years, Poland is among the countries with the relatively smallest number of hunters in the EU. Despite the various levels of hunting popularity throughout Europe, the socio-demographic profile of hunters appears to be very similar. The only factor that appears to clearly differentiate hunters in Poland from hunters from other Western European countries is the relatively low declared expenditures for hunting. This is most probably due to economic factors, and may be linked to the hunting method. Despite the centralised and unified system of hunting managemen<sup>t</sup> throughout Poland, no attempts have ye<sup>t</sup> been made to determine the economic significance of hunting and its impact on the economy. The results of these studies, even though methodologically different, are available in other European countries. Apart from the indisputable social and economic benefits, it is also important to remember the extremely important ecosystem services provided by hunters, which very often are not known to society, and their final valuation is very difficult.

Nevertheless, based on the data gathered, it can be concluded that without the financial and social support provided by hunters, modern wildlife managemen<sup>t</sup> in European countries would undoubtedly be very difficult. This social dimension is particularly important in Poland. This is connected with the way of pursuing game management, in which hunters who are members of hunting clubs belonging to the Polish Hunting Association administer the hunting grounds themselves, thus having a grea<sup>t</sup> influence on nature managemen<sup>t</sup> and, in a broader dimension, on the functioning of rural areas as well.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization: K.K.; methodology: K.K.; formal analysis: K.K. and A.H.-B.; investigation: K.K.; resources:, K.K.; data curation: K.K.; writing—original draft preparation, K.K. and A.H.-B.; writing—review and editing: K.K.; A.H.-B.; supervision: K.K. and A.H.-B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (DECISION No 6/2018 of the SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE).

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable. **Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank Dominika Kordek and Aneta Omelan for their technical support in the field research and the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions and careful reading of the manuscript.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
