Editing Hunting (section)

{{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}}
[[File:USMC-051105-M-0245S-003.jpg|thumb|Sergeant Chris D. Washington atop a hill scanning the countryside for deer during a morning hunt of [[Kilgore, Texas]]]]
[[File:Bushmen hunters (cropped).png|thumb|[[San people|Bushmen]] [[bowhunting]] for [[bushmeat]] in [[Botswana]]]]
'''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=9780199571123|edition=3|location=Oxford|pages=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|pages=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|pages=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=9780674029255|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 |url-status= dead |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|url=https://www.animal-ethics.org/animal-exploitation-section/animals-used-for-entertainment-and-as-companions-introduction/hunting/|title=Hunting|website=Animal Ethics|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/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Certain hunting practices, such as [[canned hunt]]s and [[bidding war|ludicrously paid]]/[[bribery|bribed]] [[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:Reindeer carry Kasper.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]].