View source for Hunting

{{Short description|Searching, pursuing, and killing wild animals}} 
{{Redirect-several|Hunt|Hunter|Hunters|Hunting}}
{{For|hunting done by non-humans|Predation}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
'''Hunting''' is the [[Human activity|human practice]] of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing [[wildlife]] or [[feral animal]]s.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of English|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Stevenson, Angus|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-957112-3|edition=3|location=Oxford|page=856|oclc=729551189|quote='hunt [...] pursue and kill (a wild animal) for sport or food [...]'; 'hunting [...] the activity of hunting wild animals or game.'}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Peterson|first=M. Nils|chapter=Hunting|date=2019|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ecology|volume=3|pages=438–440|editor-last=Fath|editor-first=Brian D.|edition=2|publisher= Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.11168-6|isbn=978-0-444-64130-4|quote=Hunting is the practice of pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation|last1=Park|first1=Chris|last2=Allaby|first2=Michael|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-964166-6|edition=2|location=Oxford|page=208|oclc=993020467|quote=hunting The activity of finding and killing or capturing wild animals for food, pelts, or as a field sport.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Environment and Society|last=Neves-Garca|first=Katja|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4129-5627-7|editor-last=Robbins|editor-first=Paul|volume=3|location=Thousand Oaks|pages=894–896|chapter=Hunting|oclc=228071686|quote=In very general terms, hunting refers to the activity of pursuing and killing free-roaming animals.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Environment and Ecology: Over 7,000 terms clearly defined|last=Collin|first=P. H. (Peter Hodgson)|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4081-0222-0|edition=5|series=Bloomsbury Reference|location=London|page=108|oclc=191700369|quote=hunting [...] the activity of following and killing wild animals for sport}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hunting|title=HUNTING {{!}} meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary|website=Cambridge English Dictionary|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210013935/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hunting|archive-date=2019-12-10|access-date=2019-12-10|quote=hunting [...] chasing and killing an animal or bird for food, sport, or profit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hunting|title=Hunting definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary|website=Collins English Dictionary|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210034245/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hunting|archive-date=2019-12-10|access-date=2019-12-10|quote=Hunting is the chasing and killing of wild animals by people or other animals, for food or as a sport.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/hunting-sport|title=hunting {{!}} History, Methods, & Management|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210013333/https://www.britannica.com/sports/hunting-sport|archive-date=2019-12-10|access-date=2019-12-10|quote=Hunting, sport that involves the seeking, pursuing, and killing of wild animals and birds, called game and game birds, [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History|last=Cartmill|first=Matt|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-674-02925-5|edition=1|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|oclc=298105066}}</ref>}} The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for [[meat]] and useful [[animal product]]s ([[fur]]/[[hide (skin)|hide]], [[bone]]/[[tusk]]s, [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]/[[antler]], etc.), for [[recreation]]/[[taxidermy]] (see [[trophy hunting]]), although it may also be done for resourceful reasons such as removing [[predator]]s dangerous to humans or [[domestic animal]]s (e.g. [[wolf hunting]]), to [[pest control|eliminate]] [[pest (organism)|pest]]s and [[nuisance animal]]s that damage [[crop]]s/[[livestock]]/[[poultry]] or [[zoonosis|spread diseases]] (see [[varmint hunting|varminting]]), for trade/tourism (see [[safari]]), or for [[conservation biology|ecological conservation]] against [[overpopulation]] and [[invasive species]] (commonly called a [[culling#Wildlife|cull]]).

Recreationally hunted species are generally referred to as the ''[[game (food)|game]]'', and are usually [[mammal]]s and [[bird]]s. A person participating in a hunt is a '''hunter''' or (less commonly) '''huntsman'''; a [[natural area]] used for hunting is called a [[game reserve]]; and an experienced hunter who helps organise a hunt and/or manage the game reserve is also known as a [[gamekeeper]].

[[File:Paul Childerley driven hunt Finland 04.png|thumb|Hunter on a ground stand during a driven hunt in [[Finland]]]]
Hunting activities by humans arose in ''[[Homo erectus]]'' or earlier, in the order of millions of years ago.  Hunting has become deeply embedded in various [[human culture]]s and was once an important part of [[rural]] economies—classified by economists as part of [[primary production (economics)|primary production]] alongside [[forestry]], [[agriculture]], and [[fishery]].  Modern regulations (see [[game law]]) distinguish lawful hunting activities from illegal [[poaching]], which involves the unauthorised and unregulated [[killing of animals|killing]], [[trapping]], or capture of animals.

[[File:Bogenjäger auf der Lockjagd.jpg|thumb|[[Bowhunter]] with a [[compound bow]] using a [[Game call|call]]]]
Apart from [[food]] provision, hunting can be a means of [[population control]].  Hunting advocates state that regulated hunting can be a necessary component<ref name=":4">Williams, Ted. "Wanted: More Hunters," ''Audubon'' magazine, March 2002, [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013120158/http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0203.html copy] retrieved 26 October 2007.</ref> of modern [[wildlife management]], for example to help maintain a healthy proportion of animal populations within an environment's ecological [[carrying capacity]] when natural checks such as [[natural predator]]s are absent or insufficient,<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/hunting/hunting-basics/recreational-hunting-areas/|title= Recreational Hunting Areas|website= [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]]|language= en-nz|access-date= 2019-08-13|archive-date= 13 August 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190813035300/https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/hunting/hunting-basics/recreational-hunting-areas/|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= Harper |first= Craig A |title= Quality Deer Management Guidelines for Implementation |publisher= Agricultural Extension Service, The University of Tennessee |url= http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1643.pdf |access-date= 20 December 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060912032507/http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1643.pdf |archive-date= 12 September 2006 }}</ref> or to provide funding for [[breeding program]]s and maintenance of [[natural reserve]]s and [[conservation area|conservation park]]s. However, [[overhunting|excessive hunting]] has also heavily contributed to the [[endangered species|endangerment]], [[local extinction|extirpation]] and [[extinction]] of many animals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1= Nugent|first1= Graham|last2= Choquenot|first2= David|date= 2004|title= Comparing Cost-Effectiveness of Commercial Harvesting, State-Funded Culling, and Recreational Deer Hunting in New Zealand|journal= Wildlife Society Bulletin |volume= 32|issue= 2|pages= 481–492|issn= 0091-7648|jstor= 3784988|doi= 10.2193/0091-7648(2004)32[481:CCOCHS]2.0.CO;2|s2cid= 86110872}}</ref><ref name="IUCN Red List 2010">"Red List Overview". IUCN Red List. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 8 September 2010.</ref>  Some [[animal-rights|animal rights]] and [[anti-hunting]] activists regard hunting as a [[cruelty to animals|cruel]], [[zoosadism|perverse]] and unnecessary [[blood sport]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/sport-hunting-cruel-unnecessary/|title=Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary|date=2003-12-15|website=PETA|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-20|archive-date=23 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123065425/https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/sport-hunting-cruel-unnecessary/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last1=Ethics |first1=Animal |url=https://www.animal-ethics.org/animal-exploitation-section/animals-used-for-entertainment-and-as-companions-introduction/hunting/|title=Hunting|website=Animal Ethics|date=29 March 2016 |access-date=2020-03-20|archive-date=9 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909161316/https://www.animal-ethics.org/animal-exploitation-section/animals-used-for-entertainment-and-as-companions-introduction/hunting/}}</ref> Certain hunting practices, such as [[canned hunt]]s and [[safari|trophy tour]]s (especially to poor countries), are considered [[fair chase|unethical]] and [[economic exploitation|exploitative]] even by some hunters.

[[File:Professional stalker standing next to red deer stag Ardnamurchan Estate Scotland darker 01.png|thumb|Professional [[deer stalking|deerstalker]] standing over a downed [[red deer|red stag]] in [[Scotland]]]]
[[Marine mammal]]s such as [[whale]]s and [[pinniped]]s are also targets of hunting, both recreationally and commercially, often with heated controversies regarding the morality, ethics and legality of such practices. The pursuit, harvesting or [[catch and release]] of [[fish]] and [[aquatic animal|aquatic]] [[cephalopod]]s and [[crustacean]]s is called [[fishing]], which however is widely accepted and not commonly categorised as a form of hunting.  It is also not considered hunting to pursue animals without intent to kill them, as in [[wildlife photography]], [[birdwatching]], or scientific-research activities which involve [[tranquillizer gun|tranquilizing]] or [[electronic tagging|tagging]] of animals, although [[green hunting]] is still called so.  The practices of [[butterfly net|netting]] or [[insect trap|trapping]] [[insect]]s and other [[arthropod]]s for [[insect collection|trophy collection]], or the [[foraging]] or [[hunter-gatherer|gathering]] of [[plant]]s and [[mushroom]]s, are also not regarded as hunting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Hunting - Hunting Equipment Reviews And Buying Guide |url=https://10hunting.com/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |language=en-US |archive-date=20 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220150713/https://10hunting.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Hunter carries a killed reindeer. Greenland, 2007.jpg|thumb|Hunter carrying a [[reindeer]] in [[Greenland]]]]
Skillful [[animal tracking|tracking]] and acquisition of an elusive target has caused the word ''hunt'' to be used in the [[vernacular]] as a [[metaphor]] for searching and obtaining something, as in "[[treasure hunting]]", "[[discounts and allowances|bargain]] hunting", "[[political campaign|hunting for votes]]" and even "[[punishment|hunting down]]" [[corruption]] and [[waste]].

==Etymology==
The word ''hunt'' serves as both a [[noun]] ("the act, the practice, or an instance of hunting") and a [[verb]] ("to pursue for food or in sport").<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=Definition of HUNT |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunt |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en |archive-date=20 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220144709/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunt |url-status=live }}</ref> The noun has been dated to the early 12th century, from the verb ''hunt''. [[Old English]] had ''huntung, huntoþ''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=hunt {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of hunt by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/hunt |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604144210/https://www.etymonline.com/word/hunt |url-status=live }}</ref> The meaning of "a body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded in the 1570s. "The act of searching for someone or something" is from about 1600.<ref name=":5" />

The verb, Old English ''huntian'' "to chase game" ([[Transitive verb|transitive]] and [[Intransitive verb|intransitive]]), perhaps developed from ''hunta'' "hunter," is related to ''hentan'' "to seize," from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''huntojan'' (the source also of [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''hinþan'' "to seize, capture," [[Old High German]] ''hunda'' "booty"), which is of uncertain origin. The general sense of "search diligently" (for anything) is first recorded c. 1200.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=hunt |author= Harper, Douglas |title= Hunt |dictionary= Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date= 24 December 2016}}</ref>

== Types==
* Recreational hunting, also known as [[trophy hunting]], [[sport hunting]] or "[[field sports|sport]]ing"
** [[Big game hunting]]
*** [[Big Five game]] ([[lion hunting|lion]], [[elephant hunting in Kenya|elephant]], [[African buffalo]], [[African leopard]], [[black rhinoceros]])
*** [[Bear hunting]]
*** [[Bison hunting]]
*** [[Boar hunting]]
*** [[Tiger hunting]]
*** [[Reindeer hunting in Greenland|Reindeer and caribou hunting]]
*** [[Deer hunting]]/[[deer stalking|stalking]]
*** Elk hunting
** Medium/small game hunting
*** [[Fox hunting]]
*** [[Mink hunting]]
*** [[Coon hunting]]
*** [[Hare coursing]]
*** [[Tree squirrel#Relationship with humans|Squirrel hunting]]
** [[Fowling]]
*** [[Waterfowl hunting]]
*** [[Shorebird]] hunting ([[snipe#Hunting|snipe]], [[woodcock#Hunting|woodcock]], [[curlew]], [[sandpiper]], [[plover]])
*** [[Upland hunting]] ([[quail hunting|quail]], [[pheasant shooting|pheasant]], [[Mourning dove|dove]], [[grouse hunting|grouse]], [[turkey hunting|turkey]])
* [[Pest control]]/[[nuisance wildlife management|nuisance management]]
** Predator hunting
*** [[Wolf hunting]]
*** [[Jackal coursing]]
*** [[Coyote#Hunting|Coyote hunting]]
*** [[Bobcat#Conservation|Bobcat hunting]]
** [[Varmint hunting]]
*** [[Rabbiting]]
*** [[Rook shooting]]
***[[Culling]]
* Commercial hunting and traditional sustenance hunting
** [[Seal hunting]]
** [[Whaling]], [[dolphin drive hunting|dolphin drive]], [[dugong hunting in Australia|dugong hunting]]
** [[Alligator hunting]]
** [[Kangaroo meat|Kangaroo hunting]]
* Other
** [[Falconry]]
** [[Green hunting]]
** [[Poaching]]
** [[Trapping]]

==History==
{{anchor|Paleolithic}}

===Lower to Middle Paleolithic===
{{Further|Hunting hypothesis|Endurance running hypothesis}}
Hunting has a long history. It predates the emergence of  ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' ([[anatomically modern humans]]) and may even predate the [[genus]] ''[[Homo]]''.

The oldest undisputed evidence for hunting dates to the [[Early Pleistocene]], consistent with the emergence and early dispersal of ''[[Homo erectus]]'' about 1.7 million years ago ([[Acheulean]]).<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gaudzinski | first1 = S | year = 2004 | title = Subsistence patterns of Early Pleistocene hominids in the Levant&nbsp;– Taphonomic evidence from the 'Ubeidiya Formation (Israel) | journal = Journal of Archaeological Science | volume = 31 | issue = 1 | pages = 65–75 | doi=10.1016/s0305-4403(03)00100-6| bibcode = 2004JArSc..31...65G  | issn=0305-4403 }}.
{{cite journal | last1 = Rabinovich | first1 = R. | last2 = Gaudzinski-Windheuser | first2 = S. | last3 = Goren-Inbar | first3 = N. | year = 2008 | title = Systematic butchering of fallow deer (Dama) at the early Middle Pleistocene Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (Israel) | journal = Journal of Human Evolution | volume = 54 | issue = 1| pages = 134–49 | doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.07.007 | pmid=17868780| bibcode = 2008JHumE..54..134R }}</ref>
While it is undisputed that ''Homo erectus''  were hunters, the importance of this for the emergence of ''Homo erectus'' from its australopithecine ancestors, including the production of [[stone tool]]s and eventually the [[control of fire]], is emphasised in the so-called "[[hunting hypothesis]]" and de-emphasised in scenarios that stress omnivory and [[social interaction]].

There is no direct evidence for hunting predating ''Homo erectus'', in either ''[[Homo habilis]]'' or in ''[[Australopithecus]]''.
The early [[hominidae|hominid]] ancestors of humans were probably [[frugivore]]s or [[omnivore]]s, with a partially carnivorous diet from [[scavenging]] rather than hunting.
Evidence for australopithecine meat consumption was presented in the 1990s.<ref>1992 [[trace element]] studies of the strontium/calcium ratios in [[Paranthropus|robust australopithecine]] fossils suggested the possibility of animal consumption, as did a 1994 using stable carbon isotopic analysis. {{cite web | author = Billings, Tom | access-date = 6 January 2007 | title = Comparative Anatomy and Physiology Brought Up to Date—continued, Part 3B | url = http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-3b.shtml | archive-date = 15 December 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061215105652/http://beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-3b.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref>
It has nevertheless often been assumed that at least occasional hunting behaviour may have been present well before the emergence of ''Homo''.This can be argued on the basis of comparison with [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]s, the closest extant relatives of humans, who also engage in hunting, indicating that the behavioural trait may have been present in the [[Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor]] as early as 5 million years ago. The common chimpanzee (''[[Pan troglodytes]]'') regularly engages in troop predation behaviour, where bands of beta males are led by an [[alpha male]]. [[Bonobo]]s (''[[Pan paniscus]]'') have also been observed to occasionally engage in group hunting,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livescience.com/9601-bonobos-hunt-primates.html |title=Bonobos Hunt Other Primates |work=livescience.com |year=2008 |access-date=5 August 2012 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115002501/https://www.livescience.com/9601-bonobos-hunt-primates.html |url-status=live }}</ref> although more rarely than ''Pan troglodytes'', mainly subsisting on a [[frugivorous]] diet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2004/laird/Social%20Organization.htm |title=Bonobo social spacing |author=Courtney Laird |access-date=10 March 2008 |work=Davidson College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123151613/http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2004/laird/Social%20Organization.htm |archive-date=23 January 2008 }}</ref>
Indirect evidence for [[Oldowan]] era hunting, by early ''Homo'' or late ''[[Australopithecus]]'', has been presented in a 2009 study based on
an Oldowan site in southwestern Kenya.<ref>Plummer, T.W., Bishop, L., Ditchfield, P., Kingston, J., Ferraro, J., Hertel, F. & D. Braun (2009).  "The environmental context of Oldowan hominin activities at Kanjera South, Kenya".  In: Hovers, E. & D. Braun (eds.), '' Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding the Oldowan'', Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 149–60.
Tom Plummer, [https://popular-archaeology.com/article/the-hard-stuff-of-culture-oldowan-archaeology-at-kanjera-south-kenya/ "The Hard Stuff of Culture: Oldowan Archaeology at Kanjera South, Kenya"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114233205/https://popular-archaeology.com/article/the-hard-stuff-of-culture-oldowan-archaeology-at-kanjera-south-kenya/ |date=14 November 2021 }}, ''Popular Archaeology'', June 2012.</ref>

[[Louis Binford]] (1986) criticised the idea that early hominids and early humans were hunters. On the basis of the analysis of the skeletal remains of the consumed animals, he concluded that hominids and early humans were mostly [[scavengers]], not hunters,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Binford | first1 = Louis | year = 1986 | title = Human ancestors: Changing views of their behavior | journal = Journal of Anthropological Archaeology | volume = 4 | issue = 4| pages = 292–327 | doi = 10.1016/0278-4165(85)90009-1 }}</ref>
Blumenschine (1986) proposed the idea of ''confrontational scavenging'', which involves challenging and scaring off other [[predator]]s {{em|after}} they have made a kill, which he suggests could have been the leading method of obtaining [[protein]]-rich meat by early humans.<ref>Blumenschine, Robert J. (1986) ''Early hominid scavenging opportunities: Implications of carcass availability in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro ecosystems''. Oxford, England: B.A.R.</ref>

Stone spearheads dated as early as 500,000 years ago were found in South Africa.<ref>Monte Morin, [https://web.archive.org/web/20121118111851/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/16/science/la-sci-hafting-spears-20121116 "Stone-tipped spear may have much earlier origin"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 16 November 2012</ref> Wood does not preserve well, however, and Craig Stanford, a primatologist and professor of anthropology at the [[University of Southern California]], has suggested that the discovery of spear use by chimpanzees probably means that early humans used wooden spears as well, perhaps, five million years ago.<ref>Rick Weiss, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022201007.html "Chimps Observed Making Their Own Weapons"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115000701/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022201007.html |date=15 November 2021 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 22 February 2007</ref>
The earliest dated find of surviving wooden hunting [[spear]]s dates to the very end of the [[Lower Paleolithic]], about 300,000 years ago. The [[Schöningen spears]], found in 1976 in [[Germany]], are associated with ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thieme|first1=Hartmut|year=1997|title=Lower Palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany|journal=Nature|volume=385|issue=6619|pages=807–810|bibcode=1997Natur.385..807T|doi=10.1038/385807a0|pmid=9039910|s2cid=4283393}} [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v385/n6619/abs/385807a0.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721162135/http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v385/n6619/abs/385807a0.html|date=21 July 2017}}.</ref>

The [[hunting hypothesis]] sees the emergence of [[behavioral modernity]] in the [[Middle Paleolithic]] as directly related to hunting, including [[Mating|mating behaviour]], the establishment of [[language]], culture, and [[origin of religion|religion]], [[mythology]] and [[animal sacrifice]]. Sociologist [[David Nibert]] of [[Wittenberg University]] argues that the emergence of the organized hunting of animals undermined the communal, egalitarian nature of early human societies, with the status of women and less powerful males declining as the status of men quickly became associated with their success at hunting, which also increased human violence within these societies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nibert |first=David |date=2013 |title=Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict |location= |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |page=10 |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/animal-oppression-and-human-violence/9780231151894 |isbn=978-0-231-15189-4 |access-date=18 April 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326110123/https://cup.columbia.edu/book/animal-oppression-and-human-violence/9780231151894 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, 9000-year-old remains of a female hunter along with a toolkit of [[projectile points]] and animal processing implements were discovered at the [[Andes|Andean]] site of [[Wilamaya Patjxa]], [[Puno District]] in [[Peru]].<ref>{{cite news <!--|authors=Randall Haas, James Watson, Tammy Buonasera, John Southon, Jennifer C. Chen, Sarah Noe, Kevin Smith, Carlos Viviano Llave, Jelmer Eerkens and Glendon Parker -->|author=Randall Haas |display-authors=etal |title=Female hunters of the early Americas |publisher=Science Advances |volume=6 |issue=45 |year=2020 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abd0310 }}</ref>

Early humans progressively invented tools and techniques for trapping animals. The earliest spears were crafted from wood, with tips toughened by burning. By 15,000 BC, hunters employed wooden and bone [[spear]]-launchers to enhance force and distance. These devices were frequently adorned with carvings of creatures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Branigan|first=Keith |url=https://archive.org/details/stoneagepeople0000bran/page/29/mode/1up?q=%2215%2C000+BC%22|title=Stone age people - p 29 |publisher=  London : Two-can in assoc. with Franklin Watts |year=1996|isbn=1-85434-365-3}}</ref>

===Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic===
{{main|Hunter-gatherers}}
[[File:Algerien Desert.jpg|thumb|[[Saharan rock art]] with prehistoric archers]]
[[File:21 Walrus Hunt 1999.jpg|thumb|[[Inuit]] hunting [[walrus]], 1999]]
Evidence exists that hunting may have been one of the multiple, or possibly main, [[environmental factor]]s leading to the [[Holocene extinction]] of [[megafauna]] and their replacement by smaller [[herbivores]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Surovell | first = Todd |author2=Nicole Waguespack |author3=P. Jeffrey Brantingham | title = Global archaeological evidence for proboscidean overkill | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 102 | issue = 17 | pages = 6231–36 | date = 13 April 2005 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0501947102| pmid = 15829581 | pmc = 1087946 | bibcode = 2005PNAS..102.6231S | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dembitzer |first1=Jacob |last2=Barkai |first2=Ran |last3=Ben-Dor |first3=Miki |last4=Meiri |first4=Shai |date=2022 |title=Levantine overkill: 1.5 million years of hunting down the body size distribution |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379121005230 |journal=[[Quaternary Science Reviews]] |volume=276 |issue= |article-number=107316 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107316 |bibcode=2022QSRv..27607316D |s2cid=245236379 |access-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222145949/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379121005230 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Humans are thought to have played a very significant role in the extinction of the [[Australian megafauna]] that was widespread prior to human occupation.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Miller | first1 = G.H. | year = 2005 | title = Ecosystem Collapse in Pleistocene Australia and a Human Role in Megafaunal Extinction | journal = [[Science (journal)|Science]] | volume = 309 | issue = 5732 | pages = 287–90 | doi = 10.1126/science.1111288 | pmid = 16002615 | bibcode = 2005Sci...309..287M | s2cid = 22761857 | url = http://doc.rero.ch/record/14709/files/PAL_E1537.pdf | access-date = 3 January 2023 | archive-date = 7 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230107032837/https://doc.rero.ch/record/14709/files/PAL_E1537.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Prideaux | first1 = G.J. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2007 | title = An arid-adapted middle Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from south-central Australia | journal = Nature | volume = 445 | issue = 7126| pages = 422–25 | doi=10.1038/nature05471 | pmid=17251978| bibcode = 2007Natur.445..422P | s2cid = 4429899 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Saltré|first1=F.|last2=Chadoeuf|first2=J.|last3=Peters|first3=K.J.|last4=McDowell|first4=M.C.|last5=Friedrich|first5=T.| last6=Timmermann|first6=A.|last7=Ulm|first7=S.|last8=Bradshaw|first8=C.J.|year=2019|title=Climate-human interaction associated with southeast Australian megafauna extinction patterns|journal=Nature Communications|volume=10|issue=1|page=5311|doi=10.1038/s41467-019-13277-0|pmid=31757942 |pmc=6876570 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.5311S }}</ref>

Hunting was a crucial component of hunter-gatherer societies before the [[domestication]] of [[livestock]] and the [[Neolithic Revolution|dawn of agriculture]], beginning about 11,000 years ago in some parts of the world. In addition to the [[spear]], [[hunting weapon]]s developed during the Upper Paleolithic include the [[atlatl]] (a spear-thrower; before 30,000 years ago) and the [[Bow (weapon)|bow]] (18,000 years ago). By the [[Mesolithic]], [[Hunting strategy|hunting strategies]] had diversified with the development of these more far-reaching weapons and the [[domestication of the dog]] about 15,000 years ago. Evidence puts the earliest known [[mammoth]] hunting in Asia with [[spears]] to approximately 16,200 years ago.<ref>{{cite conference |first=Vasiliy N. |last=Zenin |author2=Evgeny N. Mashenko |author3=Sergey V. Leshchinskiy |author4=Aleksandr F. Pavlov |author5=Pieter M. Grootes |author6=Marie-Josée Nadeau |title=The First Direct Evidence of Mammoth Hunting in Asia (Lugovskoye Site, Western Siberia) (L) |book-title=3rd International Mammoth Conference |publisher=Government of Yukon |date=24–29 May 2003 |location=Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada |url=http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/mammoth/abstrt-z.htm |access-date=1 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117111346/http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/mammoth/abstrt-z.htm |archive-date=17 November 2006}}</ref>

[[File:Kærvspids, Bjerlev Hede.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Sharp [[flint]] piece from [[Bjerlev Hede]] in central Jutland. Dated around 12,500 BC and considered the oldest hunting tool from Denmark.]]

Many species of animals have been hunted throughout history. One theory is that in North America and [[Eurasia]], [[reindeer|caribou and wild reindeer]] "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting"<ref name=Burch>"In North America and Eurasia the species has long been an important resource—in many areas ''the'' most important resource—for peoples inhabiting the northern [[Taiga|boreal forest]] and tundra regions. Known human dependence on caribou/wild reindeer has a long history, beginning in the Middle Pleistocene (Banfield 1961:170; Kurtén 1968:170) and continuing to the present. […] The caribou/wild reindeer is thus an animal that has been a major resource for humans throughout a tremendous geographic area and across a time span of tens of thousands of years." {{cite journal | last1 = Burch | first1 = Ernest S. Jr. | year = 1972 | title = The Caribou/Wild Reindeer as a Human Resource | journal = American Antiquity | volume = 37 | issue = 3| pages = 339–68 | doi=10.2307/278435 | jstor=278435| bibcode = 1972AmAnt..37..339B | s2cid = 161921691 }}</ref> (see also [[Reindeer Age]]), although the varying importance of different species depended on the geographic location.

[[File:Black Figured Olpe depicting the return of a hunter and his dog.jpg|thumb|Ancient Greek [[black-figure pottery]] depicting the return of a hunter and his dog; made in [[Athens]] c. 540 BC, found in [[Rhodes]]]]

[[Mesolithic]] hunter-gathering lifestyles remained prevalent in some parts of the [[Americas]], [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], and [[Siberia]], as well as all of Australia, until the European [[Age of Discovery]]. They still persist in some [[tribal societies]], albeit in rapid decline. Peoples that preserved Paleolithic hunting-gathering until the recent past include some [[List of indigenous peoples in Brazil|indigenous peoples of the Amazonas]] ([[Aché]]), some Central and Southern African ([[San people]]), some peoples of [[New Guinea]] ([[Fayu people|Fayu]]), the [[Mlabri people|Mlabri]] of [[Thailand]] and [[Laos]], the [[Vedda people]] of [[Sri Lanka]], and a handful of [[uncontacted peoples]]. In Africa, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes are the [[Hadza people|Hadza]] of Tanzania.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/wherewework/the-hadza-helping-hunter-gatherers-protect-their-homeland.xml|title=The Nature Conservancy|website=The Nature Conservancy|access-date=2016-09-15|archive-date=3 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703050952/https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/wherewework/the-hadza-helping-hunter-gatherers-protect-their-homeland.xml|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Neolithic and Antiquity===
[[File:Diana of Versailles.jpg|thumb|''[[Artemis]] with a Hind'', a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] copy of an [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] sculpture, c. 325 BC, by [[Leochares]].]]
[[File:Goguryeo tomb mural.jpg|thumb|An example of a [[Goguryeo tombs|Goguryeo tomb mural]] of hunting, middle of the first millennium.]]
[[File:0025 - 0220 Brick Relief with Harvesting, Fishing and Hunting Scene Eastern Han Dynasty National Museum of China anagoria.jpg|thumb|[[Han dynasty]] tomb brick depicting a fishing and hunting scene]]

Even as [[domestication#Animals|animal domestication]] became relatively widespread and after the development of agriculture, hunting usually remained a significant contributor to the human food-supply. 
The supplementary meat and materials from hunting included [[protein]], [[bone]] for implements, [[sinew]] for [[rope|cordage]], [[fur]], [[feathers]], [[Rawhide (textile)|rawhide]] and leather used in clothing.

Hunting is still vital in marginal climates, especially those unsuited for [[pastoral]] uses or for agriculture.<ref>{{Cite book|title= Mystique Melodies|last= Porter|first= V.I.|publisher= Dorrance Publishing|year= 2018|isbn= 978-1-4809-5591-2|location= Pittsburgh, PA|page= 48}}</ref> For example, [[Inuit]] in the [[Arctic]] trap and hunt animals for clothing and use the skins of [[Marine mammal|sea mammals]] to make [[kayak]]s, clothing, and footwear.

On ancient [[reliefs]], especially from [[Mesopotamia]], kings are often depicted by sculptors as hunters of [[Big game hunting|big game]] such as lions and are often portrayed hunting from a [[war chariot]] - early examples of royalty symbolically and militaristically engaging in hunting<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Allsen
 |first1               = Thomas T.
 |author-link1         = Thomas T. Allsen
 |year                 = 2011
 |orig-date            = 2006
 |title                = The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=WFls6zdc40QC
 |series               = Encounters with Asia
 |location             = Philadelphia
 |publisher            = University of Pennsylvania Press
 |isbn                 = 978-0-8122-0107-9
 |access-date          = 27 March 2023
}} 
</ref>
as "the sport of kings".<ref>{{cite book
 |last1        = Connor
 |first1       = Steven
 |author-link1 = Steven Connor
 |date         = 15 November 2011
 |chapter      = Winning
 |title        = A Philosophy of Sport
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=3jWZ-3pkILMC
 |location     = London
 |publisher    = Reaktion Books
 |isbn         = 978-1-86189-973-6
 |access-date  = 27 March 2023
 |quote        = From classical times onwards, games and sports were thought of as training for actual combat. The most important and sustained mediator between battle and sport was hunting, one of several sports regularly designated the 'Sport of Kings'.
 |archive-date = 27 March 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230327050352/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jWZ-3pkILMC
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
The cultural and [[psychological]] importance of hunting in ancient societies is represented by deities such as [[Horned God|the horned god]] [[Cernunnos]] and [[Lunar deity|lunar goddesses]] of [[classical antiquity]], the Greek [[Artemis]] or Roman [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. [[Taboo]]s are often related{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} to hunting, and mythological association of prey species with a [[divinity]] could be reflected in hunting restrictions such as a [[Nature reserve|reserve]] surrounding a temple. [[Euripides]]' tale of Artemis and [[Actaeon]], for example, may be seen as a caution against disrespect of prey or against impudent boasting.
[[File:Taq-e Bostan - Low-relief the boar hunt.jpg|thumb|Low-relief the boar hunt, [[Taq-e Bostan]]]]
With the domestication of the dog, [[Bird of prey|birds of prey]], and the [[ferret]], various forms of animal-aided hunting developed, including [[Medieval hunting|venery]] ([[scent hound|scent-hound]] hunting, such as [[fox hunting]]), [[coursing]] ([[sight hound|sight-hound]] hunting), [[falconry]], and [[ferreting]]. While these are all associated{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} with [[medieval hunting]], over time, various [[dog breed]]s were selected by humans for very precise tasks during the hunt, reflected in such names as [[Pointing breed|"pointer"]] and "[[setter]]".

{{See also|Lion hunting}}

===Pastoral and agricultural societies===
[[File:Nobleman in Hunting Costume preceded by his Servant trying to find the Scent of a Stag.png|thumb|right|[[Nobleman]] in hunting costume with his servant following the scent of a [[stag]], 14th century]]

Even as agriculture and [[animal husbandry]] became more prevalent, hunting often remained as a part of human culture where the environment and social conditions allowed. Hunter-gatherer societies persisted, even when increasingly confined to marginal areas. And within agricultural systems, hunting served to kill animals that prey upon [[List of domesticated animals|domestic and wild animals]] or to attempt to [[Local extinction|extirpate]] animals seen by humans as competition for resources such as water or forage.

When hunting moved from a subsistence activity to a selective one, two trends emerged:

# the development of the role of the specialist hunter, with special training and equipment
# the option of hunting as a "sport" for members of an upper social class

The meaning of the word ''game'' in [[Middle English]] evolved to include an animal which is hunted. As the domestication of animals for meat grew, subsistence hunting remained among the lowest classes; however, the stylised pursuit of game in European societies became a luxury. Dangerous hunting, such as for lions or [[wild boar]]s, often done on [[horseback]] or from a [[chariot]], had a function similar to [[Tournament (medieval)|tournaments]] and manly sports. Hunting ranked as an honourable, somewhat competitive pastime to help the [[aristocracy]] practice skills of war in times of peace.<ref>
Machiavelli provides a rationale, if not the origin, of noble hunting:
{{cite book
| last1                 = Machiavelli
| first1                = Niccolò
| author1-link          = Niccolò Machiavelli
| year              = 1531
| chapter               = Discourses on the first decade of Titus Livius, Book 3
| editor1-last          = Gilbert
| editor1-first         = Allan
| title                 = Machiavelli: The Chief Works and Others
| chapter-url                   = https://books.google.com/books?id=r6lROQffJ7cC
| volume                = 1
| publisher             = Duke University Press
| publication-date      = 1989
| page                  = 516
| isbn                  = 978-0-8223-8157-0
| access-date            = 27 December 2013
| quote                 = [...] hunting expeditions, as Xenophon makes plain, are images of war; therefore to men of rank such activity is honorable and necessary.
}}
</ref>

In most parts of [[medieval]] Europe, the upper class obtained the sole rights to hunt in certain areas of a feudal territory. Game in these areas was used as a source of food and furs, often provided via professional huntsmen, but it was also expected to provide a form of recreation for the aristocracy. The importance of this proprietary view of game can be seen in the [[Robin Hood]] legends, in which one of the primary charges against the outlaws is that they "hunt the King's deer". In contrast, settlers in Anglophone colonies gloried democratically in hunting for all.<ref>
{{cite book |last1       = Dunlap
 |first1      = Thomas R.
 |chapter     = Remaking Worlds: European models in New Lands
 |title       = Nature and the English Diaspora: Environment and History in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UDaEZnZ093EC
 |series      = Studies in Environment and History
 |issue       = 17
 |publisher   = Cambridge University Press
 |date        = 1999
 |page        = [https://archive.org/details/natureenglishdia0000dunl/page/61 61]
 |isbn        = 978-0-521-65700-6
 |access-date  = 24 December 2013
 |quote       = The settlers adopted sport hunting, as they did other elements of British culture, but they had to adapt it. Social circumstances and biological realities reshaped it and gave it new meaning. There was no elite monopolizing access to land. Indeed, the great attraction and boast of these nations were of land for all.
 |url         = https://archive.org/details/natureenglishdia0000dunl/page/61
}}
</ref>

In medieval Europe, hunting was considered by [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena]] to be part of the set of ''[[mechanic arts|seven mechanical arts]]''.<ref>In his commentary on Martianus Capella's early 5th-century work, ''The Marriage of Philology and Mercury'', one of the main sources for medieval reflection on the liberal arts.</ref>

===Use of dog===
[[File:'Jachtgezellen' Rijksmuseum SK-A-1023.jpeg|thumb|''Hunting Companions'', [[Dutch people|Dutch]] 19th-century painting featuring two dogs, a [[shotgun]] and a game bag]]

Although various other animals have been used to aid the hunter, such as [[ferrets]], the dog has assumed many very important uses to the hunter. 
The domestication of the dog has led to a [[Symbiosis|symbiotic relationship]] in which the dog's independence from humans is deferred. Though dogs can survive independently of humans, and in many cases do ferally, when raised or adopted by humans the species tends to defer to its control in exchange for habitation, food and support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huntingguide.info/|title=The Hunting Guide >> Read Before Hunt|website=Hunting Guide|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-15|archive-date=14 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114234714/https://huntingguide.info/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dogs today are used to find, chase, retrieve, and sometimes kill game. Dogs allow humans to pursue and kill prey that would otherwise be very difficult or dangerous to hunt. Different breeds of specifically bred [[hunting dog]] are used for different types of hunting. Waterfowl are commonly hunted using retrieving dogs such as the [[Labrador Retriever]], the [[Golden Retriever]], the [[Chesapeake Bay Retriever]], the [[Brittany Spaniel]], and other similar breeds. [[Upland game bird|Game birds]] are flushed out using flushing [[spaniel]]s such as the [[English Springer Spaniel]], the various [[Cocker Spaniel]]s and similar breeds.

The hunting of wild mammals in England and Wales with dogs was banned under the [[Hunting Act 2004]]. The wild mammals include fox, hare, deer and mink. There are, however, exceptions in the Act.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/countryside/hunting/ |title=Hunting with dogs « Defra |publisher=Defra.gov.uk |date=18 February 2005 |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=22 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222025403/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/countryside/hunting/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, there have been numerous attempts on behalf of activists, pressure groups, etc. to revoke the act over the last two decades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why we must continue to campaign for repeal of the Hunting Act 2004 |url=https://www.vote-ok.co.uk/hunting |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=www.vote-ok.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Misguided and futile: time to repeal the Hunting Act |url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2018/05/09/misguided-and-futile-time-to-repeal-the-hunting-act/ |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=www.oxfordstudent.com |date=9 May 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=English votes for English laws could end hunting ban |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11323563/English-votes-for-English-laws-plan-could-end-hunting-ban.html |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=The Telegraph |date=4 January 2015 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Religion==
{{Further|Homo Necans}}
Many prehistoric deities are depicted as predators or prey of humans, often in a [[zoomorphic]] form, perhaps alluding to the importance of hunting for most Palaeolithic cultures.

In many [[Paganism|pagan religions]], specific rituals are conducted before or after a hunt; the rituals done may vary according to the species hunted or the season the hunt is taking place.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Hunting the deer in Celtic and Indo-European Mythological Contexts|url=https://www.academia.edu/77811180|date=2018-01-01|first=Maxim|last=Fomin|journal=University of Wales Press}}</ref> Often a hunting ground, or the hunt for one or more species, was reserved or prohibited in the context of a temple cult.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} In Roman religion, [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] is the goddess of the hunt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diana - Roman Religion|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diana-Roman-religion|website=Encyclopædia Britannica.com|access-date=21 Dec 2021|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108130800/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diana-Roman-religion|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:CheetahHunt.jpg|thumb|[[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[aristocrat]]s hunting a [[blackbuck]] alongside an [[Asiatic cheetah]], 1812]]

===Indian and Eastern religions===
[[File:Sikh Hunting.jpg|thumb|A group of [[Sikh]]s hunting (unknown [[Pahari painting|Pahari artist]], 18th century)]]
[[File:A tiger hunt at Jhajjar, Rohtak District, Panjab.jpg|thumb|A [[Tiger hunting|tiger hunt]] at [[Jhajjar]], [[Rohtak district]], Punjab, c. 1820]]

[[Hindu scripture]]s describe hunting as an occupation, as well as a sport of the kingly. Even figures considered divine are described to have engaged in hunting. One of the names of the god [[Shiva]] is Mrigavyadha (deer-slayer).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cappeller |first=Carl |url=https://archive.org/details/sanskritenglishd00capprich/page/418/mode/2up |title=A Sanskrit-English dictionary, based upon the St. Petersburg lexicons; |publisher=Karl J. Trübner |year=1891 |location=Strassburg |page=418}}</ref> The word ''Mriga'', in many Indian languages including Malayalam, not only stands for deer, but for all animals and animal instincts (Mriga Thrishna). Shiva, as Mrigavyadha, is the one who destroys the animal instincts in human beings. In the epic [[Ramayana]], [[Dasharatha]], the father of [[Rama]], is said to have the ability to hunt in the dark. During one of his hunting expeditions, he accidentally killed [[Shravana]], mistaking him for game. During Rama's exile in the forest, [[Ravana]] kidnapped his wife, [[Sita]], from their hut, while Rama was asked by Sita to capture a golden deer, and his brother [[Lakshman]] went after him. According to the [[Mahabharat]], [[Pandu]], the father of the [[Pandavas]], accidentally killed the sage Kindama and his wife with an arrow, mistaking them for a deer.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

[[Jainism]] teaches followers to have tremendous respect for all of life. Prohibitions for hunting and meat eating are the fundamental conditions for being a [[Jain]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jainism - Nonviolence, Jiva, Ajiva, Three Jewels, Kalpa {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism/Important-figures-of-Jain-legend |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=19 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119211505/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism/Important-figures-of-Jain-legend |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Buddhism]]'s first [[precept]] is the respect for all sentient life. The general approach by all Buddhists is to avoid killing any living animals. [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] explained the issue by saying "all fear death; comparing others with oneself, one should neither kill nor cause to kill."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Buddha Taught Nonviolence, Not Pacifism |url=https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/the-buddha-taught-nonviolence-not-pacifism/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAll%20fear%20death.,of%20what%20the%20Buddha%20taught. |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.buddhistinquiry.org |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323103006/https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/the-buddha-taught-nonviolence-not-pacifism/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAll%20fear%20death.,of%20what%20the%20Buddha%20taught. |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Sikhism]], only meat obtained from hunting, or slaughtered with the [[Jhatka]] is permitted. The [[Sikh gurus]], especially [[Guru Hargobind]] and [[Guru Gobind Singh]] were ardent hunters. Many old Sikh [[Sikh Rehat Maryada|Rehatnamas]] like [[Prem Sumarag]], recommend hunting [[wild boar]] and [[deer]]. However, among modern Sikhs, the practice of hunting has died down; some even saying that all meat is forbidden.

===Christianity, Judaism, and Islam===
[[File:Ladies Hunting.png|thumb|Ladies hunting in the 15th century]]
[[File:Flanders Tapestry with the hunting scene.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tapestry]] with a hunting scene, late 16th century]]

From [[early Christian]] times, hunting has been forbidden to Roman Catholic Church [[cleric]]s. Thus the ''[[Corpus Juris Canonici]]'' (C. ii, X, De cleric. venat.) says, "We forbid to all servants of God hunting and expeditions through the woods with hounds; and we also forbid them to keep hawks or falcons." The [[Fourth Council of the Lateran]], held under [[Pope Innocent III]], decreed (canon xv): "We interdict hunting or hawking to all clerics." The decree of the [[Council of Trent]] is worded more mildly: "Let clerics abstain from illicit hunting and hawking" (Sess. XXIV, De reform., c. xii), which seems to imply that not all hunting is illicit, and canonists generally make a distinction declaring noisy (''clamorosa'') hunting unlawful, but not quiet (''quieta'') hunting.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Hunting|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07563c.htm|access-date=2021-12-29|website=www.newadvent.org|archive-date=29 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229180338/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07563c.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ferraris gives it as the general sense of canonists that hunting is allowed to clerics if it be indulged in rarely and for sufficient cause, as necessity, utility or "honest" recreation, and with that moderation which is becoming to the ecclesiastical state. Ziegler, however, thinks that the interpretation of the canonists is not in accordance with the letter or spirit of the laws of the church.<ref name=":3"/>

Nevertheless, although a distinction between lawful and unlawful hunting<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canons On Hunting |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/canons-on-hunting |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Catholic Answers |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906191059/http://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/canons-on-hunting |url-status=live }}</ref> is undoubtedly permissible, it is certain that a bishop can absolutely prohibit all hunting to the clerics of his diocese, as was done by [[synod]]s at [[Milan]], [[Avignon]], [[Liège]], [[Cologne]], and elsewhere. [[Benedict XIV]] declared that such synodal decrees are not too severe, as an absolute prohibition of hunting is more conformable to the [[Canon law|ecclesiastical law]]. In practice, therefore, the synodal statutes of various localities must be consulted to discover whether they allow quiet hunting or prohibit it altogether.<ref name=":3"/> Small-scale hunting as a family or [[subsistence farming]] activity is recognised by [[Pope Francis]] in his encyclical letter, [[Laudato si']], as a legitimate and valuable aspect of employment within the food production system.<ref>Cardinal [[Peter Turkson]], [https://s3.amazonaws.com/catholicrurallife/wp-content/uploads/20150827184825/10-13.pdf Laudato Si and the Vocation to Agriculture: A Prince of the Church explains the connection], published in Catholic Rural Life Magazine, Summer 2015, accessed 29 January 2024</ref>

Hunting is not forbidden in [[Jewish law]], although there is an aversion to it. The great 18th-century authority [[Rabbi Yechezkel Landau]] after a study concluded although "hunting would not be considered cruelty to animals insofar as the animal is generally killed quickly and not tortured... There is an unseemly element in it, namely cruelty." The other issue is that hunting can be dangerous and Judaism places an extreme emphasis on the value of human life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aish.com/ci/be/The_Jewish_Ethicist_Judaism_and_Hunting.html|title=The Jewish Ethicist: Judaism and Hunting|website=aish.com|date=13 February 2011|access-date=24 February 2016|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312075553/http://www.aish.com/ci/be/The_Jewish_Ethicist_Judaism_and_Hunting.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1589324/jewish/The-Jewish-View-on-Hunting-for-Sport.htm|title=The Jewish View on Hunting for Sport|website=chabad.org|access-date=24 February 2016|archive-date=12 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212024839/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1589324/jewish/The-Jewish-View-on-Hunting-for-Sport.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Islamic [[Sharia|Sharia Law]] permits hunting of lawful animals and birds if they cannot be easily caught and slaughtered. However, this is only for the purpose of food and not for trophy hunting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newmuslimguide.com/en/your-food-and-drink/66|title=Hunting according to Islamic Law|author=New Muslim Guide|website=newmuslimguide.com|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-date=16 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416015829/http://www.newmuslimguide.com/en/your-food-and-drink/66|url-status=live}}</ref>

==National traditions==
===East Africa===
[[File:Samuel Baker chased by an elephant.jpg|thumb|Explorer and big game hunter [[Samuel Baker]] chased by an elephant, illustration from 1890]]
{{main|Safari}}
A safari, from a [[Swahili language|Swahili]] word meaning "journey, expedition,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=safari {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of safari by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/safari |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130033501/https://www.etymonline.com/word/safari |url-status=live }}</ref> especially in Africa, is defined as a journey to see or kill animals in their natural environment, most commonly in East Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 June 2023 |title=Definition of "safari" |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/safari |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=Collins Dictionary |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305220536/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/safari }}</ref> Safari as a distinctive way of hunting was popularized by the US author [[Ernest Hemingway]] and President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brennan|first=Claire|date=2015-07-03|title="An Africa on your own front door step": the development of an Australian safari|journal=Journal of Australian Studies|volume=39|issue=3|pages=396–410|doi=10.1080/14443058.2015.1052833|s2cid=142998322|issn=1444-3058}}</ref> A safari may consist of a several-days—or even weeks-long journey, with [[camping]] in [[the bush]] or [[jungle]], while pursuing [[Game (food)|big game]]. Nowadays, it is often used to describe hunting tours through African wildlife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of SAFARI |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safari |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028002145/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safari |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hunters are usually tourists, accompanied by [[hunting license|licensed]] and highly [[Regulation|regulated]] professional hunters, local guides, [[Skinner (profession)|skinners]], and [[Porter (carrier)|porters]] in more difficult terrains.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} A special safari type is the solo-safari, where all the license acquiring, stalking, preparation, and outfitting is done by the hunter himself.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Mary |date=31 January 2019 |title=Yes, A Solo Safari Is Possible |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-plan-a-solo-safari |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=Condé Nast Traveler |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604144204/https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-plan-a-solo-safari }}</ref>

===Indian subcontinent===
[[File:Weeks Edwin Departure For The Hunt.jpg|thumb|[[Edwin Lord Weeks|Weeks Edwin's]] painting ''Departure for the Hunt'', c. 1885]]
[[File:Hunting party mandalay1885.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1|A ''Shikar'' party in [[Mandalay]], [[Burma]], soon after the conclusion of the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] in 1886, when Burma was annexed to [[British India]]]]
During the [[Indian feudalism|feudal]] and [[colonial India|colonial]] times in [[British Raj|British India]], hunting or ''shikar'' was regarded as a regal sport in the numerous [[princely states]], as many [[maharaja]]s and [[nawab]]s, as well as British officers, maintained a whole corps of ''shikari''s ([[big-game hunting|big-game hunters]]), who were native professional hunters. They would be headed by a master of the hunt, who might be styled ''mir-shikar''. Often, they recruited the normally low-ranking local tribes because of their [[traditional knowledge]] of the environment and hunting techniques. Big game, such as [[Bengal tigers]], might be hunted from the back of an [[Indian elephant]].

Regional [[Norm (sociology)|social norms]] are generally antagonistic to hunting, while a few [[sect]]s, such as the [[Bishnoi]], lay special emphasis on the conservation of particular species, such as the [[antelope]]. India's [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972]] bans the killing of all wild animals. However, the [[Indian Forest Service|Chief Wildlife Warden]] may, if satisfied that any wild animal from a specified list has become dangerous to human life or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, permit any person to hunt such an animal. In this case, the body of any wild animal killed or wounded becomes government property.<ref>{{cite web |author=Helplinelaw |url=http://www.helplinelaw.com/docs/wildlife/01.php |title=Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 |publisher=Helplinelaw.com |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=22 December 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031222151616/http://www.helplinelaw.com/docs/wildlife/01.php }}</ref>

The practice among the soldiers in British India during the 1770s of going out to hunt [[snipe]]s, a [[shorebird]] considered extremely challenging for hunters due to its alertness, camouflaging colour and erratic flight behavior, is believed to be the origin of the modern word for [[sniper]], as snipe-hunters needed to be stealthy in addition to having [[tracking (hunting)|tracking]] skills and [[marksmanship]].<ref name=":10">{{cite book|last=Pegler|first=Martin|title=Out of nowhere: a history of the military sniper|date=2004|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-84176-854-5|location=Oxford|page=16|oclc=56654780}}</ref><ref name="etymology">{{cite web|title=Snipe|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=snipe|access-date=8 April 2019|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|archive-date=4 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704125526/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=snipe|url-status=live}}</ref> The term was used in the nineteenth century, and had become common usage by the [[First World War]].

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Snowden Slights, front view YORYM-S13.jpg|thumb|Snowden Slights with [[retriever]] and [[shotgun]] around 1910, 'the last of Yorkshire's [[Wildfowler]]s'<ref name=Blast>{{cite news|last1=Ratcliffe|first1=Roger|title=Blast from the past|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/local-stories/blast-from-the-past-1-2393138|access-date=17 March 2015|work=The Yorkshire Post|publisher=Johnston Publishing Ltd.|date=6 October 2006|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143449/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/local-stories/blast-from-the-past-1-2393138|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom}}
{{See also|Deer stalking|Fox hunting legislation}}
Unarmed [[fox hunting]] on horseback with hounds is the type of hunting most closely associated with the United Kingdom; in fact, "hunting" without qualification implies fox hunting.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 June 2023 |title=Hunting |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hunting |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=Cambridge Dictionary |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210013935/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hunting }}</ref> What in other countries is called "hunting" is called "shooting" (birds)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shooting {{!}} Animal Charity |url=https://www.league.org.uk/what-we-do/shooting/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.league.org.uk |language=en-gb |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527015259/https://www.league.org.uk/what-we-do/shooting/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or "stalking" (deer)<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Deer Stalking Code of Practice |url=https://basc.org.uk/codes-of-practice/deer-stalking/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=BASC |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419162207/https://basc.org.uk/codes-of-practice/deer-stalking/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in Britain. Fox hunting is a social activity for the upper classes, with roles strictly defined by wealth and status.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Euan |date=2023-02-12 |title=The Fight Over Fox Hunting: A Cold War on England's Muddy Fields |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/world/europe/fox-hunting-warwickshire-england.html |access-date=2023-06-04 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604144210/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/world/europe/fox-hunting-warwickshire-england.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orendi |first=Dagmar |date=4 June 2023 |title=The Debate About Fox Hunting: A Social and Political Analysis |url=https://www.gbz.hu-berlin.de/ma-british-studies/distinguished-ma-theses/downloads/pdf/DagmarOrendi_MasterThesis.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=Humboldt Universität zu Berlin |pages=8–10 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811090521/https://www.gbz.hu-berlin.de/ma-british-studies/distinguished-ma-theses/downloads/pdf/DagmarOrendi_MasterThesis.pdf }}</ref> Similar to fox hunting in many ways is the chasing of hares with [[hound]]s. Pairs of [[sighthound]]s (or long-dogs), such as [[greyhound]]s, may be used to pursue a hare in coursing, where the greyhounds are marked as to their skill in coursing the hare (but are not intended to actually catch it), or the hare may be pursued with [[scent hound]]s such as [[beagle]]s or harriers. Other sorts of [[foxhound]]s may also be used for hunting [[stag|stags (deer)]] or [[American mink|mink]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} [[Deer stalking]] with rifles is carried out on foot without hounds, using stealth.<ref name=":4" />{{clear left}}

These forms of hunting have been controversial in the UK. [[Animal welfare]] supporters believe that hunting causes unnecessary suffering to foxes, horses, and hounds. Proponents argue that the activity is a historical tradition. Using dogs to chase wild mammals was [[fox hunting legislation|made illegal]] in February 2005 by the [[Hunting Act 2004]]; there were a number of exemptions (under which the activity may not be illegal) in the act for hunting with hounds, but no exemptions at all for hare-coursing.<ref name=":6" />

====Shooting traditions====
Game birds, especially [[pheasant]]s and [[red grouse]], are shot with shotguns for sport in the UK; the [[British Association for Shooting and Conservation]] says that over a million people per year participate in shooting, including game shooting, [[clay pigeon shooting]], and [[Shooting sports|target shooting]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://basc.org.uk/media-centre/basc-appeals/basc-youth-appeal |title=BASC site |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209030216/http://basc.org.uk/media-centre/basc-appeals/basc-youth-appeal/ }}</ref>
Shooting as practiced in Britain, as opposed to traditional hunting, requires little questing for game—around thirty-five million birds are released onto shooting estates every year, some having been [[factory farming|factory farmed]]. Shoots can be elaborate affairs with guns placed in assigned positions and assistants to help load shotguns. When in position, "[[beater (hunting)|beater]]s" move through the areas of cover, swinging sticks or flags to drive the game out. Such events are often called "drives," "[[driven hunting]]," or "driven hunts" (e.g., [[driven grouse shooting]]). The open season for [[grouse]] in the UK begins on 12 August, the so-called [[Glorious Twelfth]]. The definition of game in the United Kingdom is governed by the [[Game Act 1831]] ([[1 & 2 Will. 4]]. c. 32).

A similar tradition, ''{{ill|ojeo|es|vertical-align=sup}}'', exists in Spain.

===United States===
{{Main|Hunting in the United States}}
[[File:Camp on Schoodic Lake, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Hunting camp with [[Field dressing deer|dressed deer]] at [[Schoodic Lake]], Maine, in 1905]]
{{multiple image
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| caption1 = An archer with a compound hunting bow
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| caption2 = Carrying a bear trophy head at the [[Kodiak Archipelago]]
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North American hunting pre-dates the United States by thousands of years and was an important part of many [[pre-Columbian]] Native American cultures. Native Americans retain some hunting rights and are exempt from some laws as part of Indian treaties and otherwise under [[federal law]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Coggins |first1=George Cameron |last2=Modrcin |first2=William |date=1979 |title=Native American Indians and Federal Wildlife Law |journal=Stanford Law Review |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=375–423 |doi=10.2307/1228367 |jstor=1228367 |issn=0038-9765 }}</ref>—examples include [[eagle feather law]]s and exemptions in the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972|Marine Mammal Protection Act]]. This is considered particularly important in [[Alaska Native|Alaskan native]] communities.

[[File:Hectors photos 109.JPG|thumb|A man [[Target practice|target practicing]] for the hunting season]]
Gun usage in hunting is typically regulated by game category, area within the state, and time period. Regulations for [[big-game hunting]] often specify a minimum [[caliber]] or [[muzzle energy]] for [[firearm]]s. The use of [[rifle]]s is often banned for safety reasons in areas with high [[population density|population densities]] or limited [[Terrain|topographic relief]]. Regulations may also limit or ban the use of [[lead]] in [[ammunition]] because of environmental concerns. Specific seasons for [[Bow (weapon)|bow]] hunting or [[Muzzle-loader|muzzle-loading]] [[Black powder|black-powder]] guns are often established to limit competition with hunters using more effective [[weapons]].

Hunting in the United States is not associated with any particular class or culture; a 2006 poll showed seventy-eight per cent of Americans supported legal hunting,<ref>[http://www.responsivemanagement.com/download/news/newsrls_09_06.pdf Results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615231714/http://www.responsivemanagement.com/download/news/newsrls_09_06.pdf |date=15 June 2007 }} from a 2006 poll (813 people were polled) done by Responsive Management</ref> although relatively few Americans actually hunt. At the beginning of the 21st century, just six per cent of Americans hunted. [[Southern United States|Southerners]] in states along the eastern seaboard hunted at a rate of five per cent, slightly below the national average, and while hunting was more common in other parts of the South at nine per cent, these rates did not surpass those of the Plains states, where twelve per cent of [[Midwesterners]] hunted. Hunting in other areas of the country fell below the national average.<ref>National statistics from [[United States Department of the Interior|US Department of the Interior]], Fish and Wildlife Service and [[United States Department of Commerce|US Department of Commerce]], [[United States Census Bureau|US Census Bureau]], 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation, 27.</ref> Overall, in the 1996–2006 period, the number of hunters over the age of sixteen declined by ten per cent, a drop attributable to a number of factors including [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]] and changes in recreation habits.<ref>Jackson, Patrick. [http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/number-hunters-dwindling/ ''Number of hunters is dwindling—Urbanization and cultural changes discourage newcomers to the sport''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722081508/http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/number-hunters-dwindling/ |date=22 July 2015 }}.</ref>

The principles of the [[fair chase]]<ref>Interpretations of the Fair Chase can be found on the web sites of various hunter's organizations, such as the [http://www.boone-crockett.org/huntingEthics/ethics_fairchase.asp?area=huntingEthics Boone and Crockett Club] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051210081513/http://www.boone-crockett.org/huntingEthics/ethics_fairchase.asp?area=huntingEthics |date=10 December 2005 }} and [http://www.huntfairchase.com/ Hunt Fair Chase] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130125171130/http://www.huntfairchase.com/ |date=25 January 2013 }}.</ref> have been a part of the American hunting tradition for over one hundred years. The role of the hunter-conservationist, popularised by Theodore Roosevelt, and perpetuated by Roosevelt's formation of the [[Boone and Crockett Club]], has been central to the development of the modern fair chase tradition. ''Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting'', a book by Jim Posewitz, describes fair chase:
<blockquote>
"Fundamental to ethical hunting is the idea of fair chase. This concept addresses the balance between the hunter and the hunted. It is a balance that allows hunters to occasionally succeed while animals generally avoid being taken."<ref>{{cite book |last= Posewitz |first= Jim |title= Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dkkmL8TuiMkC&pg=PA57 |date= 1 August 1994 |publisher= [[Globe Pequot Press]] |isbn= 978-1-56044-283-7 |page= 57 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
</blockquote>

When [[Internet hunting]] was introduced in 2005, allowing people to hunt over the Internet using remotely controlled guns, the practice was widely criticised by hunters as violating the principles of fair chase. As a representative of the [[National Rifle Association of America]] (NRA) explained, "The NRA has always maintained that fair chase, being in the field with your firearm or bow, is an important element of hunting tradition. Sitting at your desk in front of your computer, clicking at a mouse, has nothing to do with hunting."<ref name=HSUS-FactSheet>Humane Society Wildlife Abuse Campaign, [http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/internet_hunting/facts/internet_hunting_fact_sheet.html#.UzjiW61dW9Y Fact Sheet on Internet Hunting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722083944/http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/internet_hunting/facts/internet_hunting_fact_sheet.html#.UzjiW61dW9Y |date=22 July 2015 }}</ref>

Animals such as [[blackbuck]], [[nilgai]], [[axis deer]], [[fallow deer]], [[zebra]]s, [[barasingha]], [[gazelle]] and many other exotic game species can now be found on [[game farm]]s and [[ranch]]es in [[Texas]], where they were introduced for sport hunting. These hunters can be found paying in excess of $10,000 to take trophy animals on these controlled ranches.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Wes |title=How Texas Hunting Went Exotic |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/how-texas-hunting-went-exotic/ |website=texasmonthly.com |date=20 January 2021 |publisher=Texas Monthly |access-date=14 April 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414221006/https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/how-texas-hunting-went-exotic/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Russia===
{{Main|Hunting in Russia}}
The [[Russia]]n imperial hunts evolved from hunting traditions of early Russian rulers—[[Grand Prince]]s and [[Russian Czar|Tsars]]—under the influence of hunting customs of European royal courts. The imperial hunts were organised mainly in [[Petergof|Peterhof]], [[Tsarskoye Selo]], and [[Gatchina]].
[[File:StateLibQld 1 140043 Riders gather for a dingo drive at Durella Station in Morven, ca. 1936.jpg|thumb|Riders gather for a [[dingo]] drive in [[Morven, Queensland]], 1936.]]

===Australia===
{{Main|Hunting in Australia}}
Hunting in [[Australia]] has evolved around the hunting and eradication of various animals considered to be pests or [[invasive species]] .  All native animals are protected by law, and certain species such as [[kangaroo]]s and [[duck]]s can be hunted by [[hunting license|license]]d shooters but only under a special permit on [[public land]]s during [[hunting season|open season]]s.  The [[introduced species]] that are targeted include [[European rabbit]]s, [[red fox]]es, [[deer]] ([[sambar deer|sambar]], [[Indian hog deer|hog]], [[red deer|red]], [[European fallow deer|fallow]], [[chital]] and [[Javan rusa|rusa]]), [[feral cats in Australia|feral cat]]s, [[feral pig#Australia|pig]]s, [[feral goats in Australia|goat]]s, [[brumby|brumbies]], [[feral donkeys in Australia|donkey]]s and occasionally [[Australian feral camel|camel]]s, as well as introduced [[upland bird]]s such as [[quail]]s, [[pheasant]]s and [[partridge]]s.

===New Zealand===
{{Main|Hunting in New Zealand}}
New Zealand has a strong hunting culture.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46606862|title=Hunting: a New Zealand history|last=Hunter|first=Kathryn M|date=2009|publisher=Auckland : Random House New Zealand|isbn=978-1-86979-154-4|language=en|access-date=13 August 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801195119/https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46606862|url-status=live}}</ref> When humans arrived, the only mammals present on the islands making up New Zealand were bats, although seals and other marine mammals were present along the coasts. However, when humans arrived they brought other species with them. Polynesian voyagers introduced kuri (dogs), kiore (Polynesian rats), as well as a range of plant species.  European explorers further added to New Zealand's biota, particularly pigs which were introduced by either Captain Cook or the French explorer De Surville in the 1700s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/9303|title=5. – Introduced animal pests – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand|last=Taonga|first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu|website=teara.govt.nz|language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Clarke|first1=C. M. H.|last2=Dzieciolowski|first2=R. M. |date=September 1991 |title=Feral pigs in the northern South Island, New Zealand: I. Origin, distribution, and density|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand|language=en|volume=21|issue=3|pages=237–247 |doi=10.1080/03036758.1991.10418181 |bibcode=1991JRSNZ..21..237C |doi-access=free |issn=0303-6758}}</ref> During the nineteenth century, as European colonisation took place, [[Acclimatisation society|acclimatisation societies]] were established.  The societies introduced a large number of species with no use other than as prey for hunting.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/38285949|title=Gamekeepers for the nation: the story of New Zealand's acclimatisation societies, 1861-1990|last=McDowall|first=R. M.|date=1994|publisher=Christchurch, N.Z. : Canterbury University Press|isbn=978-0-908812-41-7|language=en|access-date=13 August 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801215957/https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/38285949|url-status=live}}</ref> Species that adapted well to the New Zealand terrain include [[deer]], [[pigs]], [[goats]], [[hare]], [[tahr]] and [[chamois]]. With wilderness areas, suitable forage, and no natural predators, their populations exploded. Government agencies view the animals as pests due to their effects on the [[natural environment]] and on agricultural production, but hunters view them as a resource.

===Iran===
[[File:ChosroesHuntingScene.JPG|thumb|Plate depicting [[Khosrow I]] hunting animals]]
Iranian tradition regarded hunting as an essential part of a prince's education,<ref>{{Cite web|title=HUNTING IN IRAN i. In the pre-Islamic Period – Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/hunting-in-iran|access-date=2020-11-10|website=iranicaonline.org|archive-date=18 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118175527/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/hunting-in-iran|url-status=live}}</ref> and hunting was well recorded for the education of the upper-class youths during [[history of Iran#Classical antiquity|pre-Islamic Persia]]. As of October 2020, a hunting licensee costs $20,000. The Department of Environment although do not report the number of permits issued.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-11|title=مجوز شکار در ایران ۲۰ دلار یا ۲۰ هزار دلار؟ {{!}} پاسخ محیط زیست به انتقادات: صدور پروانه شکار کاملا فنی و کارشناسی شده است|url=https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/556550/%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B2-%D8%B4%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%B2%DB%B0-%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%DB%B2%DB%B0-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AE-%D9%85%D8%AD%DB%8C%D8%B7-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA|access-date=2020-11-10|website=همشهری آنلاین|language=fa|archive-date=12 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612164722/https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/556550/%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B2-%D8%B4%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%B2%DB%B0-%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%DB%B2%DB%B0-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AE-%D9%85%D8%AD%DB%8C%D8%B7-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Japan ===
The numbers of licensed hunters in [[Japan]], including those using [[snare trap|snares]] and guns, is generally decreasing, while their average age is increasing. {{as of|2010}}, there were approximately 190,000 registered hunters, approximately 65% of whom were sixty years old or older.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.env.go.jp/nature/choju/docs/docs4/menkyo.pdf |title=Nenreibetsu shuryō menkyo shojishasū |script-title=ja:年齢別狩猟免許所持者数 |trans-title=Number of hunting license holders by age |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724125201/https://www.env.go.jp/nature/choju/docs/docs4/menkyo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Trinidad and Tobago ===
There is a very active tradition of hunting small to medium-sized wild game in [[Trinidad and Tobago]]. Hunting is carried out with firearms, slingshots and cage traps, and sometimes aided by the use of hounds. The illegal use of trap guns and snare nets also occurs. With approximately 12,000 to 13,000 hunters applying for and being granted hunting permits in recent years, there is some concern that the practice might not be sustainable. In addition, there are at present no bag limits and the open season is comparatively very long (5 months – October to February inclusive). As such hunting pressure from legal hunters is very high. Added to that, there is a thriving and very lucrative black market for poached wild game (sold and enthusiastically purchased as expensive luxury delicacies) and the numbers of commercial poachers in operation is unknown but presumed to be fairly high. As a result, the populations of the five major mammalian game species ([[red-rumped agouti]], [[lowland paca]], [[nine-banded armadillo]], [[collared peccary]] and [[red brocket deer]]) are thought to be relatively low when compared to less-hunted regions in nearby mainland [[South America]] (although scientifically conducted population studies are only just recently being conducted {{as of|2013|lc=y}}). It appears that the [[red brocket deer]] population has been extirpated in [[Tobago]] as a result of over-hunting. By some time in the mid 20th century another extirpation due to over-hunting occurred in [[Trinidad]] with its population of [[horned screamer]] (a large game bird). Various herons, ducks, doves, the [[green iguana]], the [[cryptic golden tegu]], the [[spectacled caiman]], the [[common opossum]] and the [[capybara]] are also commonly hunted and poached. There is also some poaching of 'fully protected species', including [[Guyanan red howler|red howler]] monkey and [[capuchin monkey]]s, [[southern tamandua]], [[Brazilian porcupine]], [[yellow-footed tortoise]], the critically endangered island endemic [[Trinidad piping guan]] and even one of the national birds, the [[scarlet ibis]]. Legal hunters pay relatively small fees to obtain hunting licenses and undergo no official basic [[conservation biology]] or hunting-ethics/[[fair chase]] training and are not assessed regarding their knowledge and comprehension of the local wildlife conservation laws. There is presumed to be relatively little subsistence hunting in the country (with most hunting for either sport or commercial profit). The local wildlife management authorities are under-staffed and under-funded, and as such little in the way of enforcement is done to uphold existing wildlife management laws, with hunting/poaching occurring both in and out of season and even in wildlife sanctuaries. There is some indication that the government is beginning to take the issue of wildlife management more seriously, with well drafted legislation being brought before Parliament in 2015. It remains to be seen if the drafted legislation will be fully adopted and financially supported by the current and future governments, and if the general populace will move towards a greater awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation and change the culture of wanton consumption to one of sustainable management.

==Wildlife management==
[[File:Weisergatter.png|thumb|Control fence to assess the impact of [[Browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] by [[ungulate]]s. Note the lack of natural forest regeneration outside the fencing.]]{{Main|Wildlife management}}
Hunting is claimed to give [[Wildlife management|resource managers]] an important tool<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chardonnet |first1=P |last2=Clers |first2=B |last3=Fischer |first3=J |last4=Gerhold |first4=R |last5=Jori |first5=F |last6=Lamarque |first6=F |year=2002 |title=The Value of Wildlife |url=http://www.uga.edu/scwds/documents/chardonnet2002.pdf |journal=Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz. |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=15–51 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219121043/http://www.uga.edu/scwds/documents/chardonnet2002.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2006|doi=10.20506/rst.21.1.1323 |pmid=11974626 }}, posted by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Accessed 12 December 2006</ref><ref>Herring, Hal. [http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/hunters-conservation ''Today's sportsmen and sportswomen are a powerful force for conservation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722200346/http://www.trailcamerareviews.net/hunters-conservation/ |date=22 July 2015 }}</ref> in managing populations that might exceed the [[carrying capacity]] of their [[habitat]] and threaten the well-being of other species, or, in some instances, damage human health or safety.<ref>The [http://www.fws.gov/hunting/ hunting section of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630212314/http://www.fws.gov/hunting/ |date=30 June 2010 }} site includes articles and statistics relating to wildlife management.</ref>

In some cases, hunting actually can increase the population of predators such as coyotes by removing territorial bounds that would otherwise be established, resulting in excess neighbouring migrations into an area, thus artificially increasing the population.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/hunting-wildlife-population-control-ethical-eating/|title=Hunting for Wildlife Population Control and Ethical Eating?|date=2015-01-14|work=Free From Harm|access-date=2017-11-02|language=en-US|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107035932/https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/hunting-wildlife-population-control-ethical-eating/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hunting advocates{{Who|date=June 2012}} assert that hunting reduces [[intraspecific competition]] for food and shelter, reducing mortality among the remaining animals. Some [[environmentalist]]s assert{{Who|date=December 2009}} that (re)introducing [[predator]]s would achieve the same end with greater efficiency and less negative effect, such as introducing significant amounts of free [[lead]] into the environment and [[food chain]].

In the United States, wildlife managers are frequently part of hunting regulatory and licensing bodies, where they help to set rules on the number, manner and conditions in which game may be hunted.

Management agencies sometimes rely on hunting to control specific animal populations, as has been the case with deer in North America. These hunts may sometimes be carried out by professional shooters, although others may include amateur hunters. Many US city and local governments hire professional and amateur hunters each year to reduce populations of animals such as deer that are becoming hazardous in a restricted area, such as neighbourhood parks and [[metropolitan area|metropolitan]] open spaces.

A large part of managing populations involves managing the number and, sometimes, the size or age of animals harvested so as to ensure the sustainability of the population. Tools that are frequently used to control harvest are bag limits and season closures, although gear restrictions such as archery-only seasons are becoming increasingly popular in an effort to reduce hunter success rates in countries that rely on bag limits per hunter instead of per area.<ref name="PLOSONE2021">{{cite journal |last1=Schroeder |first1=Michael A. |last2=Coates |first2=Peter S. |last3=Collins |first3=Gary H. |title=Changes in hunting season regulations (1870s–2019) reduce harvest exposure on greater and Gunnison sage-grouse |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2021 |volume=16 |issue=7 |article-number=e0253635 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0253635 |doi-access=free |pmid=34610035 |pmc=8491912 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1653635D }}</ref><ref name="MDWFP">{{cite web |title=Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits |website=Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks |url=https://www.mdwfp.com |access-date=2024-07-13}}</ref><ref name="HunterEd">{{cite web |title=Wildlife Management Practices |website=Hunter-Ed |url=https://www.hunter-ed.com |access-date=2024-07-13}}</ref><ref name="OutdoorZia">{{cite web |title=Hunting Season: Dates, Bag Limits And Trapping |website=OutdoorZia |url=https://outdoorzia.com |access-date=2024-07-13}}</ref>

==Laws==
{{main|Hunting legislation|Poaching}}
Illegal hunting and harvesting of wild species contrary to local and international [[Conservation (ethic)|conservation]] and wildlife management laws is called poaching. [[Game preservation]] is one of the tactics used to prevent poaching. Violations of hunting laws and regulations involving poaching are normally punishable by law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://knifemetrics.com/elk-hunting-laws-and-regulations/|title=Hunting Laws and Regulations|year=2020|work=knifemetrics.com|access-date=3 January 2020|archive-date=3 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103074354/https://knifemetrics.com/elk-hunting-laws-and-regulations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Punishment can include [[Confiscation|confiscation of equipment]], [[Fine (penalty)|fines]] or a [[prison]] sentence.

=== {{anchor|right to hunt}}Right to hunt ===
The right to hunt—sometimes in combination with the right to fish—is protected implicitly, as a consequence of the [[Property rights (economics)|right of ownership]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jagdliches Eigentum|last=Brenner|first=Michael|date=2018|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|isbn=978-3-662-54770-0|editor-last=Dietlein|editor-first=Johannes|series=Bibliothek des Eigentums|volume=17|location=Berlin, Heidelberg|pages=289–308|chapter=Quo vadis, Jagdrecht?|doi=10.1007/978-3-662-54771-7|editor-last2=Froese|editor-first2=Judith}}</ref> or explicitly, as a [[Rights|right]] on its own,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gordon|first=Stacey|date=2014|title=A Solution in Search of a Problem: The Difficulty with State Constitutional "Right to Hunt" Amendments|url=https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/plrlr/vol35/iss1/4/|journal=Public Land and Resources Law Review|publisher=University of Montana School of Law|volume=35|issue=3|pages=2–50|issn=1093-6858|access-date=19 July 2019|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719201207/https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/plrlr/vol35/iss1/4/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Eisemann|first1=John D.|last2=O'Hare|first2=Jeanette R.|last3=Fagerstone|first3=Kathleen A.|date=2013|title=State-level approaches to managing the use of contraceptives in wildlife in the United States|journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine|language=en|volume=44|issue=4s|pages=47–51|doi=10.1638/1042-7260-44.4S.S47|pmid=24437085|s2cid=44747567|issn=1042-7260|url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2481&context=icwdm_usdanwrc|access-date=23 August 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801170155/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2481&context=icwdm_usdanwrc|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> in a number of jurisdictions. For instance, as of 2019, a total of 22 U.S. states explicitly recognize a subjective right to hunt in their constitutions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Right_to_hunt_and_fish_constitutional_amendments|title=Right to hunt and fish constitutional amendments|website=Ballotpedia|language=en|access-date=2019-07-19|archive-date=13 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213080757/https://ballotpedia.org/Right_to_hunt_and_fish_constitutional_amendments|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Bag limits===
{{Main|Bag limits}}
[[File:Bird shooting game rack.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Red-legged partridge]]s on a game rack]]
Bag limits are provisions under the law that control how many animals of a given species or group of species can be killed, although there are often species for which bag limits do not apply. There are also [[jurisdiction]]s where bag limits are not applied at all or are not applied under certain circumstances. The phrase ''bag limits'' come from the custom among hunters of small game to carry successful kills in a small basket, similar to a [[fishing creel]].

Where bag limits are used, there can be daily or seasonal bag limits; for example, ducks can often be harvested at a rate of six per hunter per day.<ref>{{cite web |author=Debbie Young |url=http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2003/n03-015.html |title=US Fish and Wildlife Service 2003 proposed bag limits for waterfowl |publisher=Fws.gov |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115622/http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2003/n03-015.html }}</ref> Big game, like [[moose]], most often have a seasonal bag limit of one animal per hunter.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} Bag limits may also regulate the size, sex, or age of animal that a hunter can kill. In many cases, bag limits are designed to allocate harvest among the hunting population more equitably rather than to protect animal populations, as protecting the population would necessitate regional density-dependent maximum bags.

===Closed and open season===
A [[closed season]] is a time during which hunting an animal of a given species is contrary to law. Typically, closed seasons are designed to protect a species when they are most vulnerable or to protect them during their [[breeding season]].<ref>[http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenrt.nsf/childdocs/-7380F92E35E27D99CA2573750023D375-DE772B04C4005AEDCA25737500243226?open When can I hunt, Game Hunting, Recreation and Tourism; The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Government of Victoria, Australia.], Accessed 4 December 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401063439/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenrt.nsf/childdocs/-7380F92E35E27D99CA2573750023D375-DE772B04C4005AEDCA25737500243226?open |date=1 April 2011 }}</ref> By extension, the period that is not the closed season is known as the [[Open season (hunting)|open season]].

==Methods==
[[File:Bechuana hunting the lion-1841.jpg|thumb|Tswana hunting the [[lion]], 1841]]
[[File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Hunting Buffalo - Walters 371940190.jpg|thumb|American [[bison]] being chased off a cliff as seen and painted by [[Alfred Jacob Miller]], c. 1860]]
[[File:BedaleHunt2005.jpg|thumb|Master or whipper-in and fox hounds drawing a wood. Hunting in [[Yorkshire]], Northern England, in 2005, on the last day of fully legal, proper, [[fox hunting]].]]
{{main|Hunting strategy}}
Historical, subsistence, and sport hunting techniques can differ radically, with modern hunting regulations often addressing issues of where, when, and how hunts are conducted. Techniques may vary depending on government regulations, a hunter's personal ethics, local custom, hunting equipment, and the animal being hunted. Often a hunter will use a combination of more than one technique. Laws may forbid sport hunters from using some methods used primarily in poaching and wildlife management.

==Statistics==

=== Table ===
{| class="wikitable sortable zebra" style="text-align:right"
|+Number of hunters in various European and North American countries<br />
Sources: Europe (2016/17),<ref>{{cite web |title=Jäger in Europa 2017 |periodical=Deutscher Jagdverband |url=https://www.jagdverband.de/sites/default/files/2018-01%20Infografik%20Jäger%20in%20Europa_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829014550/https://www.jagdverband.de/sites/default/files/2018-01%20Infografik%20J%C3%A4ger%20in%20Europa_0.pdf |archive-date=2019-08-29 |date=2018 |language=de}}</ref> Ireland (2007),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/3521/Thesis%20Final%20D.%20Scallan%202012%20Hunting%20in%20Rural%20Ireland%20PDF.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219151922/https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/3521/Thesis%20Final%20D.%20Scallan%202012%20Hunting%20in%20Rural%20Ireland%20PDF.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|archive-date=2016-12-19|title=The Place of Hunting in Rural Ireland|last=Scallan|first=David|publisher=National University of Ireland|date=2012-03-20|location=Galway|page=95|access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> Canada (2012),<ref>{{citation |publisher=Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Governments of Canada |title=2012 Canadian Nature Survey: Awareness, participation and expenditures in nature-based recreation, conservation, and subsistence activities |location=Ottawa, ON, Canada |page=52 |isbn=978-1-100-23241-6 |date=2014 |url=https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/sites/biodivcanada/files/2017-12/2012_Canadian_Nature_Survey_Report%28accessible_opt%29.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829013219/https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/sites/biodivcanada/files/2017-12/2012_Canadian_Nature_Survey_Report%28accessible_opt%29.pdf |archive-date=2019-08-29 |url-status=live |access-date=2019-08-29
}}</ref> Russia (2012),<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Braden|first=Kathleen|date=2014-09-03|title=Illegal recreational hunting in Russia: the role of social norms and elite violators|journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics|language=en|volume=55|issue=5|pages=457–490|doi=10.1080/15387216.2015.1020320|s2cid=154573305|issn=1538-7216}}</ref> United States (2016);<ref>{{citation |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Census Bureau |title=2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation |page=113 |date=May 2018 |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/fhwar/publications/2016/fhw16-nat.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829012807/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/fhwar/publications/2016/fhw16-nat.pdf |archive-date=2019-08-29 |url-status=live |access-date=2019-08-29}}</ref>
|-
!Country !! Hunters !! Population 
(millions)
! Hunters as percentage of 
the total population
! Relation 
hunters/inhabitants
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Hunters per km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{CAN}}|| 2,482,678||34.7||7.15||1:14||9,984,670||0.25
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{FIN}}|| 308,000||5.2||5.92||1:17||338,448||0.91
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{CYP}}|| 45,000||0.8||5.63||1:18||5,896||7.63
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{NOR}}|| 190,000||4.7||4.04||1:25||385,207||0.49
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{MLT}}|| 15,000||0.4||3.75||1:27||316||47.47
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{USA}}|| 11,453,000||323.1||3.54||1:28||9,826,675||1.17
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{SWE}}|| 290,000||9.0||3.22||1:31||447,435||0.65
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{DEN}}|| 165,000||5.5||3.00||1:33||42,921||3.84
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{IRL}}|| 104,000||4.2||2.48||1:46||70,273||1.48
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{GRE}}|| 235,000||10.7||2.20||1:46||131,957||1.78
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{ESP}}|| 980,000||45.0||2.18||1:46||505,970||1.94
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{POR}}|| 230,000||10.7||2.15||1:47||92,212||2.49
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{FRA}}|| 1,331,000||64.1||2.08||1:48||543,965||2.45
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{RUS}}|| 2,800,000||143.2||1.96||1:51||17,125,200||0.16
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{BUL}}|| 110,000||7.7||1.43||1:70||110,994||0.99
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{AUT}}|| 118,000||8.3||1.42||1:70||83,879||1.41
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{GBR}}|| 800,000||61.1||1.31||1:76||242,495||3.30
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{ITA}}|| 750,000||58.1||1.29||1:77||301,338||2.49
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{EST}}|| 16,600||1.3||1.28||1:78||45,339||0.37
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{CRO}}|| 55,000||4.5||1.22||1:82||56,594||0.97
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{SLO}}|| 22,000||2.0||1.10||1:91||20,273||1.09
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{LAT}}|| 25,000||2.3||1.09||1:92||64,589||0.39
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{CZE}}|| 110,000||10.2||1.08||1:93||78,866||1.39
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{SVK}}|| 55,000||5.4||1.02||1:98||49,034||1.12
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{LIT}}|| 32,000||3.6||0.89||1:113||65,300||0.49
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{HUN}}|| 55,000||9.9||0.56||1:180||93,036||0.59
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{GER}}|| 351,000||82.5||0.43||1:235||357,578||0.98
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{LUX}}|| 2,000||0.5||0.40||1:250||2,586||0.77
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{CHE}}|| 30,000||7.6||0.39||1:253||41,285||0.73
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{POL}}|| 106,000||38.5||0.28||1:363||312,696||0.34
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{ROU}}|| 60,000||22.2||0.27||1:370||238,391||0.25
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{BEL}}|| 23,000||10.4||0.22||1:452||30,688||0.75
|-
| style=text-align:left | {{NLD}}|| 28,170||16.7||0.17||1:593||41,543||0.68
|}

=== Graph ===
[[File:Bar graph - Number of hunters in various countries.svg|1200x1200px]]

==Trophy hunting==
{{Main|Trophy hunting}}
[[File:Usov.jpg|thumb|upright|Trophy collection of the [[House of Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein family]] at [[Úsov]] Castle, the Czech Republic]]
[[File:Zdravko Pečar During an Elephant Hunt (3).jpg|thumb|A hunter and local guides with an [[elephant]] they shot, 1970]]
Trophy hunting is the selective seeking and killing of wild game animals to take [[trophies]] for [[private collection|personal collection]], [[boasting|bragging rights]] or as a [[status symbol]].  It may also include the controversial hunting of captive or semi-captive animals expressly bred and raised under controlled or semi-controlled conditions so as to attain trophy characteristics; this is sometimes known as [[canned hunt]]s.<ref>[http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za:8080/jspui/bitstream/10948/1328/1/Examination%20Copy%20Final%20Document%20Dissertation.pdf Motivations of International Trophy Hunters Choosing to Hunt in South Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503213609/http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za:8080/jspui/bitstream/10948/1328/1/Examination%20Copy%20Final%20Document%20Dissertation.pdf |date=3 May 2015 }}</ref>

===History===
In the 19th century, southern and central European sport hunters often pursued game only for a [[trophy]], usually the head or [[fur|pelt]] of an animal, which was then displayed as a sign of prowess. The rest of the animal was typically discarded. Some cultures, however, disapprove of such waste. In [[Nordic countries]], hunting for trophies was—and still is—frowned upon. Hunting in North America in the 19th century was done primarily as a way to supplement food supplies, although it is now undertaken mainly for sport.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The [[#East Africa|safari]] method of hunting was a development of sport hunting that saw elaborate travel in Africa, India and other places in pursuit of trophies. In modern times, [[trophy hunting]] persists and is a significant industry in some areas.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

===Conservation tool===
According to the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]], hunting "provides an economic incentive" for ranchers to continue to breed those species, and that hunting "reduces the threat of the species' extinction."<ref>{{Cite web |title=2005 Federal Register, 70 FR 52310; Centralized Library: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - 09/02/05 - FR Doc 05-17432 |url=https://www.fws.gov/policy/library/2005/05-17432.pdf |access-date=30 September 2023 |website=[[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-hunting-endangered-animals-save-the-species/|title=Can hunting endangered animals save the species?|website=cbsnews.com|date=30 January 2012|access-date=12 July 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825192156/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-hunting-endangered-animals-save-the-species/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A scientific study in the journal, ''Biological Conservation'', states that trophy hunting is of "major importance to conservation in Africa by creating economic incentives for conservation over vast areas, including areas which may be unsuitable for alternative wildlife-based land uses such as photographic ecotourism."<ref name="africanwildlifeconservationfund.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Economic-and-conservation-significance.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117050938/http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Economic-and-conservation-significance.pdf |archive-date=17 November 2015 }}</ref> However, another study states that less than 3% of a trophy hunters' expenditures reach the local level, meaning that the economic incentive and benefit is "minimal, particularly when we consider the vast areas of land that hunting concessions occupy."<ref name="economistsatlarge">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Ecolarge-2013-200m-question.pdf |title=International Fund for Animal Welfare |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119134720/http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Ecolarge-2013-200m-question.pdf }}</ref>

Financial incentives from trophy hunting effectively more than double the land area that is used for wildlife conservation, relative to what would be conserved relying on national parks alone according to ''Biological Conservation'',<ref name="africanwildlifeconservationfund.org"/> although local communities usually derive no more than 18 cents per hectare from trophy hunting.<ref name="economistsatlarge"/>

[[Trophy hunting]] has been considered essential for providing economic incentives to conserve large carnivores according to research studies in ''Conservation Biology'',<ref name="cbs.umn.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Effects%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20on%20populations%20of%20lions%20and%20leopards%20in%20TZ.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160036/http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Effects%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20on%20populations%20of%20lions%20and%20leopards%20in%20TZ.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> ''Journal of Sustainable Tourism'',<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/09669589708667294 | volume=5 | issue=4 | title=Trophy Hunting as a Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources in Southern and Eastern Africa | journal=Journal of Sustainable Tourism | pages=306–321 | year=1997 | last1=Baker | first1=Joni E. | bibcode=1997JSusT...5..306B | s2cid=153994508 }}</ref> ''Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use'',<ref>{{cite book | doi=10.1007/978-94-011-4012-6_15 | pages=295–313 | year=2000 | last1=Hurt | first1=Robin | last2=Ravn | first2=Pauline | title=Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use | chapter=Hunting and Its Benefits: An Overview of Hunting in Africa with Special Reference to Tanzania | isbn=978-94-010-5773-8 | s2cid=168071478 }}</ref> and ''Animal Conservation''.<ref name="cbs.umn.edu"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewca.gov.et/sites/default/files/Lindsey%20et%20al%20%202006%20Potential%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20to%20create%20incentives%20for%20wildlifeconservationin%20Africa.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141728/http://www.ewca.gov.et/sites/default/files/Lindsey%20et%20al%20%202006%20Potential%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20to%20create%20incentives%20for%20wildlifeconservationin%20Africa.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> Studies by the Centre for Responsible Tourism<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bear-watching-more-profitable-than-bear-hunting-says-study-1.2488311|title=Bear watching more profitable than bear hunting, says study|website=cbc.ca|access-date=16 July 2014|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703032651/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bear-watching-more-profitable-than-bear-hunting-says-study-1.2488311|url-status=live}}</ref> and the IUCN state that ecotourism, which includes more than hunting, is a superior economic incentive, generating twice the revenue per acre and 39 times more permanent employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/should-trophy-hunting-of-lions-be-banned-155657735/|title=Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?|first=Alastair|last=Bland|website=smithsonianmag.com|access-date=16 July 2014|archive-date=25 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725214947/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/should-trophy-hunting-of-lions-be-banned-155657735/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the cross-section of trophy hunting, ecotourism and conservation is [[green hunting]], a trophy hunting alternative where hunters pay to dart animals that need to be tranquilized for conservation projects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cousins|first1=Jenny A.|last2=Sadler|first2=Jon P.|last3=Evans|first3=James|date=2010|title=The Challenge of Regulating Private Wildlife Ranches for Conservation in South Africa|journal=Ecology and Society|volume=15|issue=2|article-number=art28 |doi=10.5751/es-03349-150228|issn=1708-3087|doi-access=free|hdl=10535/6027|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

The [[U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources]] in 2016 concluded that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Jada F. |date=13 June 2016 |title=Trophy Hunting Fees Do Little to Help Threatened Species, Report Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/politics/trophy-hunting-fees-do-little-to-help-threatened-species-report-says.html?_r=1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=26 May 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502140913/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/politics/trophy-hunting-fees-do-little-to-help-threatened-species-report-says.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Animal welfare organizations, including the [[IFAW|International Fund for Animal Welfare]], claim that trophy hunting is a key factor in the "silent extinction" of [[giraffes]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Milman |first=Oliver |date=19 April 2017 |title=Giraffes must be listed as endangered, conservationists formally tell US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/19/giraffes-endangered-species-conservation-hunting |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 May 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430050100/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/19/giraffes-endangered-species-conservation-hunting |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a national survey that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts every five years, fewer people are hunting, even as population rises. National Public Radio reported, a graph shows 2016 statistics, that only about 5 per cent of Americans, 16 years old and older, actually hunt, which is half of what it was 50 years ago. The decline in popularity of hunting is expected to accelerate over the next decade, which threatens how US will pay for conservation.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation|title=Decline in Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays For Conservation|website=npr.org|date=20 March 2018 |access-date=16 May 2018|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517152630/https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation|url-status=live |last1=Rott |first1=Nathan }}</ref>

===Controversy===
{{see also|Killing of Cecil the lion}}
Trophy hunting is most often criticised when it involves rare or [[endangered]] animals.<ref>[http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28737&SESSION=875 Early Day Motion on trophy hunting] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222022827/http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28737&SESSION=875 |date=22 February 2006 }}</ref> Opponents may also see trophy hunting as an issue of [[morality]]<ref>see, for example, [http://flaflooga.com/trophy_hunting.php this internet page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710234644/http://flaflooga.com/trophy_hunting.php |date=10 July 2015 }}</ref> or [[cruelty to animals|animal cruelty]], criticising the killing of living creatures for [[recreation]]. [[Victorian era]] dramatist [[W. S. Gilbert]] remarked, "[[Deer-stalking]] would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."<ref>[[George Grossmith|Grossmith, George]] in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 7 June 1911</ref>

There is also debate about the extent to which trophy hunting benefits the [[local economy]]. Hunters pay substantial fees to the game outfitters and hunting guides which contributes to the local economy and provides value to animals that would otherwise be seen as competition for grazing, livestock, and crops.<ref>Martin, Glen. [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/06/MNG1UF392D1.DTL ''The lion, once king of vast African savanna, suffers alarming decline in population''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313073454/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/06/MNG1UF392D1.DTL |date=13 March 2007 }}, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 October 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2007.</ref> However, the argument is disputed by animal welfare organizations and other opponents of trophy hunting.<ref>League Against Cruel Sports. [https://www.league.org.uk/trophy-hunting ''Trophy Hunting''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831131819/https://www.league.org.uk/trophy-hunting |date=31 August 2017 }} July 2017</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Morell |first=Virginia |date=18 November 2017 |title=What Trophy Hunting Does to the Elephants It Leaves Behind |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/elephant-trophy-hunting-psychology-emotions/546293/ |work=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-date=19 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119060433/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/elephant-trophy-hunting-psychology-emotions/546293/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It is argued that the animals are worth more to the community for [[ecotourism]] than hunting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_trophyecotourism.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317025223/http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_trophyecotourism.php|archive-date=17 March 2007|title=and Hunting|website=endangeredspecieshandbook.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://iworry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Dead-or-Alive-Final-LR.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://iworry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Dead-or-Alive-Final-LR.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Dead or Alive? Valuing an Elephant|date=2013 |website=iworry.org |publisher=David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>

==Economics==
[[File:AM Hunting Lodge.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chatelherault Country Park|Chatelherault]], built by [[William Adam (architect)|William Adam]] in 1743 as the [[James Douglas-Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton's]] hunting lodge]]
[[File:Mannerheim hunting house.JPG|thumb|right|[[Marshal's Cabin]], a former hunting lodge in [[Loppi]], Finland]]

A variety of industries benefit from hunting and support hunting on economic grounds. In [[Tanzania]], it is estimated that a safari hunter spends fifty to one hundred times that of the average [[ecotourist]]. While the average photo tourist may seek luxury accommodation, the average safari hunter generally stays in tented camps. Safari hunters are also more likely to use remote areas, uninviting to the typical ecotourist. Advocates argue that these hunters allow for anti-poaching activities and revenue for local communities.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

In the United Kingdom, the game hunting of birds as an industry is said to be extremely important to the rural economy. The Cobham Report of 1997 suggested it to be worth around £700&nbsp;million, and hunting and shooting lobby groups claimed it to be worth over a billion pounds less than ten years later.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

Hunting also has a significant financial impact in the United States, with many companies specialising in hunting [[sports equipment|equipment]] or speciality tourism. Many different technologies have been created to assist hunters. Today's hunters come from a broad range of economic, social, and cultural backgrounds. In 2001, over thirteen million hunters averaged eighteen days hunting, and spent over $20.5&nbsp;billion on their sport.<ref>Why You're Wrong About the Right: Behind the Myths: The Surprising Truth About Conservatives. p. 137. By S.E. Cupp & Brett Joshpe Published by: Simon and Schuster, 2009</ref> In the US, proceeds from hunting licenses contribute to state game management programs, including preservation of wildlife habitat.

Hunting contributes to a portion of caloric intake of people and may have positive impacts on greenhouse gas emissions by avoidance of utilization of meat raised under industrial methods.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1080/10871209.2020.1799266|title=Reported U.S. Wild game consumption and greenhouse gas emissions savings|year=2020|last1=Johnson|first1=Jamie L.|last2=Zamzow|first2=Benjamin K.|last3=Taylor|first3=Nathan T.|last4=Moran|first4=Matthew D.|journal=Human Dimensions of Wildlife|volume=26 |pages=1–11|s2cid=225489395 }}</ref>

==Environmental problems==
[[File:40SW.jpg|thumb|Right: [[.40 S&W]] round with [[hollow-point bullet]]

Left: Expanded bullet of the same calibre with exposed lead core]]
Lead bullets that miss their target or remain in an unretrieved carcass could become a [[toxicant]] in the environment but lead in ammunition because of its metallic form has a lower solubility and higher resistance to corrosion than other forms of lead making it hardly available to biological systems.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Dr. Göttlein Axel|title=Eco-toxicological assessment of hunting rifle ammunition|url=http://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-002/|publisher=Bavarian Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry upon an initiative of the Bavarian Hunting Association|date=2016-04-07|access-date=17 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018082938/https://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-002/|archive-date=18 October 2017}}</ref> Waterfowl or other birds may ingest the lead and poison themselves with the neurotoxicant, but studies have demonstrated that effects of lead in ammunition are negligible on animal population size and growth.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Frederik Verdonck|title=Population Trend modelling of European Upland Birds due to Lead Shot Ingestion|work=Lead in Ammunition |url=http://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-001/|date=2016-04-07|access-date=17 February 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018082926/https://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-001/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Angelo Moretto |author2=Piermannuccio Mannucci |title=Lead in game meat and implications for human health |url=http://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-013/ |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217062210/http://www.leadinammunition.com/independent-studies-013/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 1991, US federal law forbids lead shot in waterfowl hunts, and 30 states have some type of restriction.<ref name=ps1013>{{cite news|author1=Michael Todd |title=Gunning for Lead Bullets |url=https://psmag.com/nature-and-technology/duel-lead-green-bullets-68369 |access-date=30 December 2014 |work=Pacific Standard |date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228102856/https://psmag.com/nature-and-technology/duel-lead-green-bullets-68369 |archive-date=28 December 2014}}</ref>

In December 2014, a federal appeals court denied a lawsuit by environmental groups that the [[EPA]] must use the [[Toxic Substances Control Act]] to regulate lead in shells and cartridges. The groups sought EPA to regulate "spent lead", yet the court found EPA could not regulate spent lead without also regulating cartridges and shells.<ref name=we1214>{{cite news|author1=Zack Colman|title=EPA can't regulate lead bullets, says federal court|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epa-cant-regulate-lead-bullets-says-federal-court/article/2557789|access-date=30 December 2014|work=Washington Examiner|date=23 December 2014|archive-date=23 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223224508/http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epa-cant-regulate-lead-bullets-says-federal-court/article/2557789|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Conservation==
{{Main|Conservation (ethic)|Conservation movement}}
{{Unbalanced|date=May 2012}}
[[File:Decline-of-the-worlds-wild-mammals.png|thumb|upright=1.5|The changing distribution of the world's land mammals in tonnes of carbon. The [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of wild land mammals has declined by 85% since the emergence of humans, with hunting and agriculture being primary drivers of this decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline|title=Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans, but there is a possible future where they flourish|last=Ritchie|first=Hannah|author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |date=April 20, 2021|website=[[Our World in Data]]|publisher=|access-date=April 18, 2023|quote=|archive-date=18 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318175721/https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline|url-status=live}}</ref> ]]

Hunters have been driving forces throughout history in the movement to ensure the preservation of [[Habitat (ecology)|wildlife habitats]] and [[wildlife]] for further hunting.<ref>Brockington, Dan. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hanwVhP-JFQC&pg=PA47 Nature unbound: conservation, capitalism and the future of protected areas]'', Earthscan, 2008.<br /> "The birth of the international conservation movement as we recognize it today was due to the influence of powerful aristocratic hunters who wished to preserve suitable specimens for their sport from the alleged depredations of Africans (Mackenzie, 1988). The international hunting fraternity remains a powerful force behind conservation today."</ref> However, excessive hunting and poachers have also contributed heavily to the endangerment, extirpation and extinction of many animals, such as the [[quagga]], the [[great auk]], [[Steller's sea cow]], the [[thylacine]], the [[bluebuck]], the [[Arabian oryx]], the [[Caspian tiger|Caspian]] and [[Javan tiger]]s, the [[markhor]], the [[Sumatran rhinoceros]], the bison, the [[North American cougar]], the [[Altai argali]] sheep, the [[Asian elephant]] and many more, primarily for commercial sale or sport. All these animals have been hunted to [[endangered species|endangerment]] or extinction.{{refn|<ref name="IUCN Red List 2010"/><ref>Hack, M.A., East, R. & Rubenstein, D.I. (2008). Equus quagga quagga. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 5 January 2008</ref><ref>Montevecchi, William A.; David A. Kirk (1996). "Demography–Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis)". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2010-04-29.</ref><ref>Ellis, Richard (2004). No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species. New York City: Harper Perennial. p. 134. {{ISBN|0-06-055804-0}}.</ref><ref>"Additional Thylacine Topics: Persecution". The Thylacine Museum. 2006. Retrieved 27 November 2006.</ref><ref>Skead, C.J. 1987. Historical mammal incidence in the Cape Province. Volume 1&nbsp;– The Western and Northern Cape. The Department of Nature and Environmental Conservation of the Provincial Administration of the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town</ref><ref name="Talbot, Lee Merriam 1960 pp. 84">[[Lee M. Talbot|Talbot, Lee Merriam]] (1960). ''A Look at Threatened Species''. The Fauna Preservation Society. pp. 84–91.</ref><ref>Geptner, V.G., Sludskii, A.A. (1972). Mlekopitaiušcie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A.A., Bannikov, A.G.) (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2: Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats).</ref><ref>Valdez, R. (2008). Capra falconeri. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 5 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is regarded as endangered</ref><ref>Staff (December/January 2012). "Restoring a Prairie Icon". National Wildlife (National Wildlife Federation) 50 (1): 20–25.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cardoza | first1 = J.E. | last2 = Langlois | first2 = S.A. | year = 2002 | title = The eastern cougar: A management failure? | journal = Wildlife Society Bulletin | volume = 30 | issue = 1| pages = 265–73 }}</ref><ref>Endangered Animals&nbsp;– A Reference Guide to Conflicting Issues</ref>}} Poaching currently threatens bird and mammalian populations around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/people-are-hunting-primates-bats-and-other-mammals-extinction|title=People are hunting primates, bats, and other mammals to extinction|first=Elizabeth|last=Pennisi|author-link=Elizabeth Pennisi|date=18 October 2016|work=[[Science (magazine)|Science]]|access-date=26 May 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020025827/https://www.science.org/content/article/people-are-hunting-primates-bats-and-other-mammals-extinction|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=William J.|last1=Ripple|first2=Katharine|last2=Abernethy|first3=Matthew G.|last3=Betts|first4=Guillaume|last4=Chapron|first5=Rodolfo|last5=Dirzo|first6=Mauro |last6=Galetti|first7=Taal|last7=Levi|first8=Peter A.|last8=Lindsey|first9=David W.|last9=Macdonald|first10=Brian|last10=Machovina|first11=Thomas M.|last11=Newsome|first12=Carlos A.|last12=Peres|first13=Arian D.|last13= Wallach|first14=Christopher|last14=Wolf|first15=Hillary|last15=Young|year=2016|title=Bushmeat hunting and extinction risk to the world's mammals|journal=Royal Society Open Science|volume=3|issue=10|pages=1–16|doi=10.1098/rsos.160498|doi-access=free|pmid=27853564|pmc=5098989|bibcode=2016RSOS....360498R}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Benítez-López|first1=A.|last2= Alkemade|first2=R.|last3=Schipper|first3=A.M. |last4= Ingram|first4=D. J.|last5= Verweij|first5= P.A.|last6= Eikelboom|first6=J.A.J.|last7= Huijbregts|first7=M.A.J.|date=14 April 2017 |title=The impact of hunting on tropical mammal and bird populations|url= http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10058583/7/Ingram%20aaj1891_ArticleContent_v3.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10058583/7/Ingram%20aaj1891_ArticleContent_v3.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal= [[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=356 |issue=6334 |pages=180–83|doi=10.1126/science.aaj1891|pmid=28408600|bibcode=2017Sci...356..180B|hdl=1874/349694|s2cid=19603093}}</ref> The 2019 ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' lists the direct exploitation of organisms, including hunting, as the second leading cause of [[biodiversity loss]], after land use for [[agriculture]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/landmark-analysis-documents-alarming-global-decline-nature|title=Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature|vauthors=Stokstad E|date=5 May 2019|website=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science|AAAS]]|language=en|access-date=10 May 2021|quote="For the first time at a global scale, the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities. Climate change will likely overtake the other threats in the next decades, the authors note. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.)"|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026232451/https://www.science.org/content/article/landmark-analysis-documents-alarming-global-decline-nature|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, [[IPBES]] released another report which stated that unsustainable hunting, along with unsustainable logging and fishing, are primary drivers of the global extinction crisis.<ref>{{cite news|last=Briggs|first=Helen|date=July 8, 2022|title=Unsustainable logging, fishing and hunting 'driving extinction'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405|work=BBC|location=|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=1 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801105751/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2023 study published in ''[[BioScience]]'' posited that the prioritizing of hunting by state agencies in the United States over the rewinding of key species is "reinforcing" the loss of biodiversity.<ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Robyn |date=December 2, 2023 |title=Scientists Warn American 'Promotion of Hunting' Is Ruining the Environment|url=https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-warn-american-focus-hunting-reinforcing-biodiversity-loss-1846779|work=[[Newsweek]] |location= |access-date=December 4, 2023}}</ref>

===Legislation===
[[File:Paulus Potter - Punishment of a Hunter.jpg|thumb|right|''Punishment of a Hunter'' (c. 1647) by [[Paulus Potter]]]]

====Pittman–Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937====
In 1937, American hunters successfully lobbied the US Congress to pass the [[Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act|Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act]], which placed an eleven per cent tax on all hunting equipment. This self-imposed tax now generates over $700&nbsp;million each year and is used exclusively to establish, restore and protect wildlife habitats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/pittmanrobertson.html|title=The Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act|publisher=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]|access-date=11 May 2007|archive-date=24 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524004106/http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/pittmanrobertson.html}}</ref> The act is named for Nevada Senator [[Key Pittman]] and Virginia Congressman [[Absalom Willis Robertson]].

====Federal Duck Stamp program====
On 16 March 1934, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, which requires an annual stamp purchase by all hunters over the age of sixteen. The stamps are created on behalf of the program by the [[US Postal Service]] and depict wildlife artwork chosen through an annual contest. They play an important role in [[habitat conservation]] because ninety-eight per cent of all funds generated by their sale go directly toward the purchase or lease of [[wetland]] habitat for protection in the [[National Wildlife Refuge|National Wildlife Refuge System]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Migratory Bird Hunting & Conservation Stamp Act |url=https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-hunting-and-conservation-stamp-act.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928213256/https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-hunting-and-conservation-stamp-act.php |archive-date=28 September 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019 |website=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref> In addition to waterfowl, it is estimated that one third of the nation's endangered species seek food and shelter in areas protected using Duck Stamp funds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=H.R. 4315 Wetlands Loan Act and Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act {{!}} U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=https://www.fws.gov/testimony/hr-4315-wetlands-loan-act-and-migratory-bird-hunting-and-conservation-stamp-act |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=FWS.gov |language=en |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226143527/https://www.fws.gov/testimony/hr-4315-wetlands-loan-act-and-migratory-bird-hunting-and-conservation-stamp-act |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since 1934, the sale of Federal Duck Stamps has generated $670&nbsp;million, and helped to purchase or lease {{convert|5200000|acres|sqmi km2}} of habitat. The stamps serve as a license to hunt migratory birds, an entrance pass for all National Wildlife Refuge areas, and are also considered collector's items often purchased for [[aesthetic]] reasons outside of the hunting and birding communities. Although non-hunters buy a significant number of Duck Stamps, eighty-seven per cent of their sales are contributed by hunters. Distribution of funds is managed by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/realty/mbcc.html|title=Migratory Bird Conservation Commission|publisher=United States Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=31 May 2007|archive-date=8 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608230532/http://www.fws.gov/realty/mbcc.html}}</ref>

===Species===
====Arabian oryx====
The [[Arabian oryx]], a species of large [[antelope]], once inhabited much of the desert areas of the Middle East.<ref name="Talbot, Lee Merriam 1960 pp. 84"/> Native [[Bedouin]] tribes had long hunted the oryx using camels and arrows. Oil exploration made the habitat increasingly accessible, and the species' striking appearance made it (along with the closely related scimitar-horned oryx and addax) a popular quarry for sport hunters, including foreign executives of oil companies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Price |first=Mark R. Stanley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yr7vofq7SPgC&pg=PR13 |title=Animal Reintroductions: The Arabian Oryx in Oman |date=1989-09-14 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-34411-1 |pages=39–40 |language=en}}</ref> The use of automobiles and high-powered rifles destroyed their only advantage: speed, and they became extinct in the wild exclusively due to sport hunting in 1972. The scimitar-horned oryx followed suit, while the addax became critically endangered.<ref>The Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, Malcolm L Hunter, Jr., James P. Gibbs</ref> However, the Arabian oryx has now made a comeback and been upgraded from "extinct in the wild" to "vulnerable" due to conservation efforts like captive breeding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/06/17/arabian-oryx-makes-history-as-first-species-to-be-upgraded-from-extinct-in-the-wild-to-vulnerable/|title=Arabian Oryx Makes History as First Species to Be Upgraded from "Extinct in the Wild" to "Vulnerable"|first=John|last=Platt|website=scientificamerican.com|access-date=13 July 2014|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714213055/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/06/17/arabian-oryx-makes-history-as-first-species-to-be-upgraded-from-extinct-in-the-wild-to-vulnerable/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Markhor====
The [[markhor]] is an endangered species of wild goat which inhabits the mountains of [[Central Asia]] and [[Pakistan]]. The [[colonization]] of these regions by [[British Empire|Britain]] gave British sport hunters access to the species, and they were hunted heavily, almost to the point of extinction. Only their willingness to breed in captivity and the inhospitability of their mountainous habitat prevented this. Despite these factors, the markhor is still endangered.<ref>Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World, 2001</ref>

====American bison====
The [[American bison]] is a large [[bovid]] which inhabited much of western North America prior to the 1800s, living on the prairies in large herds. However, the vast herds of bison attracted market hunters, who killed dozens of bison for their hides only, leaving the rest to rot. Thousands of these hunters quickly eliminated the bison herds, bringing the population from several million in the early 1800s to a few hundred by the 1880s. Conservation efforts have allowed the population to increase, but the bison remains near-threatened due to lack of habitat.<ref>American Bison: A Natural History, By Dale F. Lott, Harry W. Greene, ebrary, Inc, Contributor Harry W. Greene, Edition: illustrated, Published by University of California Press, 2003  {{ISBN|978-0-520-24062-9}}</ref>

====White rhino====
The ''Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy'' cites that the legalization of white rhinoceros hunting in South Africa motivated private landowners to reintroduce the species onto their lands. As a result, the country saw an increase in white rhinos from fewer than one hundred individuals to more than 11,000, even while a limited number were killed as trophies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/|title=Can trophy hunting actually help conservation?|publisher=Conservation|date=15 January 2014|website=conservationmagazine.org|access-date=12 July 2014|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000632/http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, the illegal hunting of rhinoceros for their horns is highly damaging to the population and is currently growing globally,<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8388606.stm 'Global surge' in rhino poaching ]  [[BBC]]. 1 December 2009</ref> with 1004 being killed in South Africa alone according to the most recent estimate.<ref>{{cite news|title=946 rhino killed in 2013|url=http://ewn.co.za/2013/12/19/946-Rhino-poached-in-2013|access-date=25 December 2013|newspaper=Eyewitness News|date=19 December 2013|archive-date=22 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222042921/http://ewn.co.za/2013/12/19/946-Rhino-poached-in-2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The White Rhino (along with the other 4 rhino species) are poached due to beliefs that the Rhinos horns can be used to cure Cancer, Arthritis and other diseases and illnesses, even though they are scientifically proven wrong.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[International Anti-Poaching Foundation]] (IAPF) |url=https://www.iapf.org/news/rhinos |title=Why Are Rhinos Poached? |date=4 February 2021 |access-date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304190618/https://www.iapf.org/news/rhinos |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Other species====
According to [[Richard Conniff]], Namibia is home to 1,750 of the roughly 5,000 black rhinos surviving in the wild because it allows trophy hunting of various species. Namibia's mountain zebra population has increased to 27,000 from 1,000 in 1982. Elephants, which "are gunned down elsewhere for their ivory", have gone to 20,000 from 15,000 in 1995. Lions, which were on the brink of extinction "from Senegal to Kenya", are increasing in Namibia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/opinion/a-trophy-hunt-thats-good-for-rhinos.html|title=Opinion – A Trophy Hunt That's Good for Rhinos|date=2014-01-20|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Conniff|first1=Richard|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=9 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709075518/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/opinion/a-trophy-hunt-thats-good-for-rhinos.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In contrast, Botswana in 2012 banned trophy hunting following a precipitous wildlife decline.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20544251|title=Botswana to ban wildlife hunting|date=29 November 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919171716/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20544251|url-status=live}}</ref> The numbers of antelope plummeted across Botswana, with a resultant decline in predator numbers, while elephant numbers remained stable and hippopotamus numbers rose. According to the government of Botswana, trophy hunting is at least partly to blame for this, but many other factors, such as poaching, drought and habitat loss are also to blame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/18/botswana-natural-wonder-brink-of-catastrophe|title=Drought and poachers take Botswana's natural wonder to brink of catastrophe|first=David|last=Smith|date=17 June 2011|website=The Guardian|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-date=27 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227100649/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/18/botswana-natural-wonder-brink-of-catastrophe|url-status=live}}</ref> Uganda recently did the same, arguing that "the share of benefits of sport hunting were lopsided and unlikely to deter poaching or improve [Uganda's] capacity to manage the wildlife reserves."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/11/23/uganda_ends_sport_hunting/ |title=National Geographic Society Newsroom |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313012029/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/11/23/uganda_ends_sport_hunting/ |archive-date=13 March 2014 }}</ref> In 2020, Botswana reopened trophy hunting on public lands.<ref>{{cite web|title=Botswana to Kickstart Elephant Hunting With Auction This Week|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/botswana-to-kickstart-elephant-hunting-with-auction-this-week|date=3 February 2020|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126210517/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/botswana-to-kickstart-elephant-hunting-with-auction-this-week|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Studies===
[[File:Cage trap on a farm, Namibia.jpg|thumb|Cage [[Trapping#Trap types|trap]] ([[Trapping#Cage traps (live traps)|live trap]]) for [[cheetah]]s on a farm in [[Namibia]]]]
A study published by the [[Wildlife Society]] concluded that hunting and trapping are cost effective tools that reduce wildlife damage by reducing a population below the capacity of the environment to carry it and changing the behaviors of animals to stop them from causing damage. The study furthermore states that the cessation of hunting could cause wildlife to be severely harmed, rural property values to fall, and the incentive of landowners to maintain natural habitats to diminish.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/bear/policy_lit/conover01.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/bear/policy_lit/conover01.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|last=Conover|first= Michael R. |title=Effect of Hunting and Trapping on Wildlife Damage|journal= [[Wildlife Society Bulletin]]|volume= 29. No. 2 (Summer. 2001)|pages= 521–32|publisher= Allen Press|access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref>

Although deforestation and forest degradation have long been considered the most significant threats to tropical biodiversity, across Southeast Asia (Northeast India, Indochina, Sundaland, Philippines) substantial areas of natural habitat have few wild animals (>1&nbsp;kg), bar a few hunting‐tolerant species.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12785|title=Impacts of hunting on tropical forests in Southeast Asia: Hunting in Tropical Forests|first1=Rhett D.|last1=Harrison|first2=Rachakonda|last2=Sreekar|first3=Jedediah F.|last3=Brodie|first4=Sarah|last4=Brook|first5=Matthew|last5=Luskin|first6=Hannah|last6=O'Kelly|first7=Madhu|last7=Rao|first8=Brett|last8=Scheffers|first9=Nandini|last9=Velho|date=12 October 2016|journal=Conservation Biology|volume=30|issue=5|pages=972–981|doi=10.1111/cobi.12785|pmid=27341537 |s2cid=3793259 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/ddi.12292|title = The use of species-area relationships to partition the effects of hunting and deforestation on bird extirpations in a fragmented landscape|year = 2015|last1 = Sreekar|first1 = Rachakonda|last2 = Huang|first2 = Guohualing|last3 = Zhao|first3 = Jiang-Bo|last4 = Pasion|first4 = Bonifacio O.|last5 = Yasuda|first5 = Mika|last6 = Zhang|first6 = Kai|last7 = Peabotuwage|first7 = Indika|last8 = Wang|first8 = Ximin|last9 = Quan|first9 = Rui-Chang|last10 = Ferry Slik|first10 = J. W.|last11 = Corlett|first11 = Richard T.|last12 = Goodale|first12 = Eben|last13 = Harrison|first13 = Rhett D.|journal = Diversity and Distributions|volume = 21|issue = 4|pages = 441–450| s2cid=55972282 |doi-access = free| bibcode=2015DivDi..21..441S }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/acv.12588|title = Combining camera-trap surveys and hunter interviews to determine the status of mammals in protected rainforests and rubber plantations of Menglun, Xishuangbanna, SW China|year = 2020|last1 = Huang|first1 = G.|last2 = Sreekar|first2 = R.|last3 = Velho|first3 = N.|last4 = Corlett|first4 = R. T.|last5 = Quan|first5 = R.-C.|last6 = Tomlinson|first6 = K. W.|journal = Animal Conservation| volume=23 | issue=6 | pages=689–699 | bibcode=2020AnCon..23..689H | s2cid=218779515 }}</ref>

==Opposition==
{{Main|Opposition to hunting}}

Animal rights activists argue that killing animals for sport is unethical, cruel, and unnecessary.<ref name=":1" /> They note the suffering and cruelty inflicted on animals hunted for sport: "Many animals endure prolonged, painful deaths when they are injured but not killed by hunters. Hunting disrupts migration and hibernation patterns and destroys families."<ref name=":1" /> Animal rights activists also comment that hunting is not needed to maintain an [[ecological balance]], and that "nature takes care of its own".<ref name=":1" /> They say that hunting can be combated on public lands by "spread[ing] deer repellent or human hair (from barber shops) near hunting areas".<ref name=":1" /> Animal rights activists also argue that hunting is [[speciesism|speciesist]]:<ref name=":2" />

<blockquote>Whether hunters try to justify their killing by citing human deaths caused by wild animals, by making conservationist claims, by claiming that it's acceptable to hunt as long as the animals' bodies are eaten, or simply because of the pleasure it brings them, the fact remains that hunting is morally unacceptable if we consider the interests of nonhuman animals. Hunted animals endure fear and pain, and then are deprived of their lives. Understanding the injustices of speciesism and the interests of nonhuman animals makes it clear that human pleasure cannot justify nonhuman animals' pain.<ref name=":2" /></blockquote>

In Vietnam, Singapore, China, Brunei, hunting is almost entirely illegal. Except for aquatic and marine products, insects and rodents, amphibians, and some reptiles such as snakes and lizards. In China, after 2020, hunting as a livelihood for ethnic minorities almost disappeared due to the ban on consuming bushmeat. In Vietnam, although nominally some non-endangered species in group IIIA can be hunted with permits and forest owners, in reality no permits are issued. Some destructive species like sparrows and squirrels were previously overlooked by the government, but recently, regulations have been tightened. Although hunting some reptiles like sand lizards is illegal, the government considers it legal. A similar situation previously occurred with wild birds; many Vietnamese people consider wild birds as a resource to be exploited rather than a priority for conservation. In one survey, although many people claimed they rarely or never consumed wild animals, when asked if they had eaten egrets or herons, they were surprised. In Singapore, even frogs are considered wild animals.{{fact|date=May 2026}}

==In the arts==
[[File:Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry décembre.jpg|thumb|[[Limbourg Brothers]], Boar hunt with hounds, [[illuminated manuscript|illumination]] from the ''[[Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry]]'', {{circa|1445}}]]
[[File:Gustave Courbet - The Quarry (La Curée) - WGA5466.jpg|thumb|[[Gustave Courbet]], ''[[The Kill – Deer Hunting in the Grand Jura Forests]]'', 1857]]
[[File:Albert Gleizes, La Chasse, 1911, oil on canvas, 123.2 x 99 cm.jpg|thumb|[[Albert Gleizes]], ''[[La Chasse, The Hunt (Gleizes)|La Chasse (The Hunt)]]'', 1911, oil on canvas depicting a scene in the [[Cubism|Cubist]] style of hunting by horseback in France]]

<gallery>
File:Larnax, hunting of deer and ibex, Prepalatial, AM, Rethymno, 076107.jpg|Hunting of deer and [[ibex]], [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[larnax]], prepalatial period
File:TombofNebamun-2.jpg|Hunting in the papyrus thicket, mural from a tomb in [[Thebes, Egypt]], before 1350 BC
File:Stag hunt mosaic, Pella.jpg|The [[Stag hunt mosaic]], {{circa|300 BC}}, [[Pella]], Greece
File:Mosaico de Las Tiendas (MNAR Mérida) 01.jpg|Man hunting a boar, Roman mosaic, 4th century AD
File:Falconry Book of Frederick II 1240s.jpg|Illustration from the falconry book ''[[De arte venandi cum avibus]]'' written by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Frederick II]], {{circa|1245}}
File:Musée des Augustins Toulouse 14.JPG|[[Giovanni di Francesco]] (?),<br />''La caccia'', {{circa|1455}}, tempera on wood, detail
File:Hunt in the forest by paolo uccello.jpg|[[Paolo Uccello]], ''[[The Hunt in the Forest|Caccia notturna (The Hunt in the Forest)]]'', {{circa|1475}}
File:Carpaccio, caccia nella laguna, 1490-95 ca. 01.JPG|[[Vittore Carpaccio]], ''Caccia in laguna (Hunt in the Lagoon)'', {{circa|1490}}
File:Piero di Cosimo - Scena di caccia.jpg|[[Piero di Cosimo]],<br /> ''A Hunting Scene'', 1508
File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Hirschjagd des Kurfürsten Friedrich des Weisen (KHM Wien).jpg|[[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], ''A Stag Hunt with the Elector Friedrich the Wise'', 1529
File:Peter Paul Rubens 083.jpg|[[Peter Paul Rubens]], ''Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt'', {{circa|1615}}
File:Peter Paul Rubens 110.jpg|Peter Paul Rubens, ''Tiger and Lion Hunt'', 1618
File:Charles André van Loo, fermata durante la caccia, 1737, 01.jpg|[[Charles André van Loo]], ''Halte de chasse (Halt During the Hunt)'', 1737
File:Partida de caza.jpg|[[Francisco Goya]], ''The Quail Shoot'', 1775
File:Caimán del Magadalena - Mark, Edward Walhouse.jpg|Edward Walhouse Mark, ''Caimán del Magadalena'', 1843 - 1856
File:Gustave Courbet - The Hunt Breakfast - WGA5468.jpg|Gustave Courbet, ''The Hunt Breakfast'', 1858
File:Eugène Delacroix - Chasse au lion (1858).jpg|[[Eugène Delacroix]], ''Chasse au lion (Lion Hunt)'', 1858
File:Édouard Manet - Pertuiset, le chasseur de lions.jpg|[[Édouard Manet]], ''[[Portrait of Monsieur Pertuiset the Lion-Hunter]]'', 1881
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Poaching]]
* [[Anti-hunting]]
* [[Bambi effect]]
* [[Big five game]]
* [[Big-game hunting]]
* [[Blood sport]]
* [[Bowhunting]]
* [[Chase (land)|Chase]]
* [[Defaunation]]
* [[Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU]]
* [[Game (hunting)]]
* [[Human hunting]]
* [[Hunt Saboteurs Association]] (HSA)
* [[Hunting horn]]
* [[Hunting weapon]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/genv20/70/3 International Journal of Environmental Studies (2013) Special Edition: Conservation and Hunting in North America. IJES v 70.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808074012/https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/genv20/70/3 |date=8 August 2020 }}
* [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/genv20/72/5 International Journal of Environmental Studies (2015) Special Edition: Conservation and Hunting in North America II. IJES v72.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809023426/https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/genv20/72/5 |date=9 August 2020 }}
* [http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_informingdecisionsontrophyhuntingv1.pdf IUCN (2016) Briefing Paper: Informing Decisions on Trophy Hunting.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004000306/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_informingdecisionsontrophyhuntingv1.pdf |date=4 October 2016 }}
* [https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_ssc_guiding_principles_on_trophy_hunting_ver1_09aug2012.pdf IUCN Species Survival Commission (2012) Guiding Principles on Trophy Hunting as a Tool for Creating Conservation Incentives.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113114730/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_ssc_guiding_principles_on_trophy_hunting_ver1_09aug2012.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_ssc_guiding_principles_on_trophy_hunting_ver1_09aug2012.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=13 January 2018 }}
* Dickson D. Bruce Jr., Mississippi Quarterly (Spring 1977).
* Kenneth S. Greenberg, Honor and Slavery: Lies, Duels, Noses, Masks, Dressing as a Woman, Gifts, Strangers, Humanitarianism, Death, Slave Rebellions, the Pro-Slavery Argument, Baseball, Hunting, and Gambling in the Old South (1996).
* Steven Hahn, Radical History Review (1982).
* Charles H. Hudson Jr., in Indians, Animals, and the Fur Trade, ed., Shephard Krech III (1981).
* Stuart A. Marks, Southern Hunting in Black and White: Nature, History, and Ritual in a Carolina Community (1991).
* Ted Ownby, Subduing Satan: Religion, Recreation, and Manhood in the Rural South, 1865–1920 (1990).
* Wiley C. Prewitt, "The Best of All Breathing: Hunting and Environmental Change in Mississippi, 1900–1980" M.A. thesis, (1991).
* Nicolas W. Proctor, Bathed in Blood: Hunting and Mastery in the Old South (2002).
* Jacob F. Rivers III, Cultural Values in the Southern Sporting Narrative (2002).
* [http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/hsp/soa_ii_chap01.pdf Salem, D.J., and A.N. Rowan, eds. 2003. ''The State of the Animals II: 2003''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324052934/http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/hsp/soa_ii_chap01.pdf |date=24 March 2012 }}. Washington, D.C.: Humane Society Press. ({{ISBN|0-9658942-7-4}})
* Timothy Silver, A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests, 1500–1800 (1990).
* Richard C. Stedman and Thomas A. Heberlein, Rural Sociology (2001). Hunting and rural socialization: Contingent effects of the rural setting on hunting participation.
* Nancy L. Struna, People of Prowess: Sport, Leisure, and Labor in Early Anglo-America (1996).
* [[Marek Zukow-Karczewski]], ''Polowania w dawnej Polsce'' (Hunting in the old Poland), "AURA" (A Monthly for the protection and shaping of human environment) 12 (1990).
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/208.html The Theodore Roosevelt Hunting Library] at the [[Library of Congress]] has 254 items on this topic.

{{Animal rights|topics}}
{{Mammals in culture}}
{{Hunting topics}}
{{Animal welfare}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hunting| ]]
[[Category:Cruelty to animals]]
[[Category:Survival skills]]
[[Category:Lifestyles]]