Editing Hunting (section)

==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 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} 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 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 |pages=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>