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Legislation on hunting with dogs is in place in many countries around the world. Legislation may regulate, or in some cases prohibit the use of dogs to hunt or flush wild animal species.
The use of scenthounds to track prey dates back to Assyrian, Babylonian and Egyptian times and in England, hunting with Agassaei hounds was popular before the Romans. [1] In more modern times, hunting regulation has been encouraged by the animal welfare and animal rights movements out of concern for wildlife management and to prevent cruelty.
Hunting is legal in France.[ citation needed ]
Contrary to popular belief, Germany was not the first country to have enacted national laws against animal cruelty (the British Parliament adopted the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 111 years earlier [2] : 25 ), and the process of adopting animal welfare legislation on state and local level began decades before the Nazis took power in 1933. [2] : 37
In the 19th century, many aristocrats in the German Empire hunted with hounds on horseback, including Emperor Wilhelm II (r. 1888–1918).[ citation needed ] Hounds were used to pursue deer, wild boar, hares and foxes.[ citation needed ] However, in the late 1880s until the early 1900s, the nature conservation and animal protection movement in Germany started to form and began campaigning for legislation on animal welfare, including hunting. [2] Although no national (imperial) laws were ever passed, several German states including the largest and most populous and powerful, Prussia, adopted laws on which wild animals received protected status and which could be hunted. [3] This decentralised process of regulation resulted in a situation where hunting laws varied from state to state. [2] : 45 During the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), more state laws and local decrees were passed, while some national laws were drafted that were never enacted. [2] : 38 For example, the Prussian Tier- und Pflanzenschutzverordnung ('Animal and Plant Protection Act') of 16 December 1929 protected 'all wild bird species native to Europe' with the exception of designated 'huntable' species (specified in the Prussian Hunting Regulation of 15 July 1907) and 13 unprotected bird species. [3]
The first time a national law on hunting was passed was the Reichsjagdgesetz ('Imperial Hunting Law') of 3 July 1934, during Adolf Hitler's government. [2] : 45 This nationwide law superseded all seventeen state regulations that existed up until that point. [2] : 45 It was closely modelled on the Weimar-era Prussian Tier- und Pflanzenschutzverordnung ('Animal and Plant Protection Act') of 16 December 1929.[ citation needed ] Hermann Göring had a passion for shooting game[ citation needed ] and was appointed both Reichsforstmeister ('Imperial Master of Forestry') and Reichsjagdmeister ('Imperial Master of Hunting'). [2] : 45
In the Republic of Ireland, hunting with hounds is legal and there are many hound packs in the country. Fox hunting is legal as foxes are not a protected species, but hunts must be registered and take place at only certain times of the year. [4] Lamping, the night-time hunting of rabbits with lurcher dogs and bright lights, is legal. [5]
Hunting protected species is controlled under the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2012. [6] It is illegal to hunt deer with dogs. [7] Hunting of hares with dogs is also illegal. [8] [9] [10]
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Hunting of wild mammals in the traditional style is banned by the Hunting Act 2004. Earlier acts, such as the Protection of Animals Act 1911, the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 contained specific exemptions for hunting activities.[ citation needed ]
In February 2002 the Scottish Parliament voted by eighty-three to thirty-six to pass legislation to ban hunting with hounds. MSPs decided not to give compensation to those whose livelihoods or businesses might suffer as a result of the ban. The Act came into effect on 1 August 2002.[ citation needed ] An article in The Guardian on 9 September 2004 reported that of the ten Scottish hunts, nine survived the ban, using the permitted exemption allowing them to use packs of hounds to flush foxes to guns. [11]
A number of convictions took place under the Act, two for people hunting foxes and ten for hare coursing.[ citation needed ] The only prosecution of a traditional mounted hunt led to a not guilty verdict, but to a clarification of the law, with the sheriff saying that the activity of flushing foxes to guns "will require to be accompanied by realistic and one would expect, effective arrangements for the shooting of pest species. The use of what might be termed "token guns" or what was described by the Crown as paying lip service to the legislation is not available ... as a justification for the continuation of what was referred to in the evidence before me as traditional fox hunting." [12]
There were eleven hunts in Scotland as of February 2015. [13] The continuation of the current law regarding fox hunting in England and Wales has been guaranteed by the Scottish National Party. [14] The law regarding fox hunting in Scotland was made stricter in 2023, following the passage and commencement of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, which repealed and replaced the 2002 Act. [15] [16]
Fox hunting in Northern Ireland would have been banned had the Foster Bill become law.[ citation needed ] However, by the time of subsequent hunting legislation in the House of Commons, the Northern Ireland Assembly had been established and the hunting issue had been devolved to that body.[ citation needed ] A Hunting Bill was introduced into the Northern Ireland Assembly but rejected in December 2010. [17]
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In the United States federal system, the agency primarily responsible for wildlife management is the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the United States Department of the Interior, a cabinet-level division, whose director reports directly to the president. Within these federal guidelines, most hunting regulation for non-migratory species rests within wildlife or agricultural departments at the state level. With fifty different states, this lends itself to a wide variety of diversity, especially for an activity such as fox hunting. Much more common than organised fox hunting is the hunting (usually by private individuals) of raccoons (Ursus lotor) with coonhounds, and where such hunting is practised, the two are often regulated similarly due to the method (which involves tracking or active pursuit by dogs).
The red fox is protected in every state in which it is present (all except Hawaii), in contrast to its status in the UK. It is variously classified as a furbearer, small game or predator in state hunting and trapping regulations. The open and closed hunting seasons for fox (both red and gray) also vary by state. Pursuit of red fox while in possession of a firearm requires a hunting license (or in some cases a trapping license) in all states, and is generally restricted to a specific season (typically the winter months). In some states (such as Florida) it is illegal to chase fox with dogs while in possession of a firearm, although it is legal to chase them otherwise.
In some western states the coyote is an unprotected species, and there are no restrictions on the methods used in hunting them. In these areas Hunt Clubs often pursue coyote instead of fox.
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to exploit the animal's body for meat and useful animal products, for recreation/taxidermy, although it may also be done for non-exploitative reasons such as removing predators dangerous to humans or domestic animals, to eliminate pests and nuisance animals that damage crops/livestock/poultry or spread diseases, for trade/tourism, or for ecological conservation against overpopulation and invasive species.
Fox hunting is a traditional activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds", follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species, controls the release of non-native species, enhances the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and builds upon the rights of way rules in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Act is split into 4 parts covering 74 sections; it also includes 17 schedules.
The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and animal fighting. The charity helped bring about the Hunting Act 2004 and Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which banned hunting with hounds in England, Wales and Scotland.
Spotlighting or lamping is a method of hunting nocturnal animals using off-road vehicles and high-powered lights, spotlights, lamps or flashlights, that makes special use of the eyeshine revealed by many animal species. A further important aspect is that many animals often remain to continually stare at the light and do not appear to see the light as a threat as they normally would view a human. It is possible to carefully approach animals on foot to a short distance if the bright light is continuously maintained on the animal to greatly improve chances of successful killing. Spotlighting may also be used as a method of surveying nocturnal fauna. Repeated, frequent spotlighting may have a detrimental effect on animals and is discouraged.
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products, for recreation ("sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, though most are terrestrial mammals and birds. Fish caught non-commercially are also referred to as game fish.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 December 1963.
Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, as well as by commoners with sighthounds and lurchers. In its oldest recorded form in the Western world, as described by Arrian – it was a sport practised by all levels of society and it remained the case until Carolingian period forest law appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility, and other land owners. It then became a formalised competition, specifically on hare in Britain, practised under rules, the Laws of the Leash.
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent.
Game laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and hunt certain kinds of wild animals and fish. The scope of game laws can include the following:
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in the US. Its legislative division, the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL), pushes for the passage of laws that reflect this purpose.
A working terrier is a terrier bred to hunt small mammals, such as badgers or foxes. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name dates back to 1425 and is derived from the French chien terrier, 'digging dog', which is from Medieval Latin terrarius, ultimately from Latin terra (earth).
Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer hunting. There are many different types of deer around the world that are hunted for their meat. For sport, often hunters try to kill deer with the largest and most antlers to score them using inches. There are two different categories of antlers. They are typical and nontypical. They measure tine length, beam length, and beam mass by each tine. They will add all these measurements up to get a score. This score is the score without deductions. Deductions occur when the opposite tine is not the same length as it is opposite. That score is the deducted score.
In the United Kingdom, the term hunting with no qualification generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normally fox hunting, stag (deer) hunting, beagling, or minkhunting, whereas shooting is the shooting of game birds. What is called deer hunting elsewhere is deer stalking. According to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) over a million people a year participate in shooting, including stalking, shooting, hunting, clay shooting and target shooting. Firearm ownership is regulated in the UK by licensing. Provisions exist for those without a Firearm or Shotgun certificate to shoot under the supervision of a certificate holder.
Opposition to hunting is espoused by people or groups who object to the practice of hunting, often seeking anti-hunting legislation and sometimes taking on acts of civil disobedience, such as hunt sabotage. Anti-hunting laws, such as the English Hunting Act 2004, are generally distinguishable from conservation legislation like the American Marine Mammal Protection Act by whether they seek to reduce or prevent hunting for perceived cruelty-related reasons or to regulate hunting for conservation, although the boundaries of distinction are sometimes blurred in specific laws, for example when endangered animals are hunted.
The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in February 2002, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to ban traditional fox hunting and hare coursing. It was repealed in 2023.
Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers; on foot, horseback, or both.
Australia has a population of about 25 million, with the Commonwealth Government's 2019 survey estimating there are 640,000 recreational hunters in the country. There are around 5.8 million legally owned guns in Australia, ranging from airguns to single-shot, bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action or semi-automatic firearms.