Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products, for recreation/taxidermy, although it may also be done for resourceful 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.
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 would a human. It is possible to carefully approach animals on foot to a short distance if bright light is continuously maintained on the animal, greatly improving 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.
A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a smoothbore barrel with a tapered constriction at the muzzle to regulate the extent of scattering.
Rabbiting is the sport of hunting rabbits. It often involves using ferrets or dogs to track or chase the prey. There are various methods used in capturing the rabbit, including trapping and shooting. Depending on where the hunting occurs, there may be licenses required and other rules in regards to methods being used.
In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure that there is enough game for hunting, or fish for fishing, and acts as guide to those pursuing them.
Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These have been projected from slings since ancient times and were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and grenade launchers, while they are less commonly used in riot guns. Shot shells are also available in many handgun calibers in a configuration known as "birdshot", "rat shot", or "snake shot".
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:
Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for sport and meat. Waterfowl are hunted in crop fields where they feed, or in areas with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, sloughs, or coasts. There are around 3 million waterfowl hunters in the United States alone.
Upland hunting is an American term for a form of bird hunting (fowling) in which the hunter pursues upland birds including quail, pheasant, grouse, woodcock, prairie chicken, chukar, grey partridge, and other landfowls. Unlike aquatic and semiaquatic bird species, upland birds are terrestrial and tend to be found strictly on the dry lands above the high mark of waterbodies, often hidden in heavy groundcover, so hunters generally employ the use of gun dogs to locate, expose and retrieve game. The average group consists of 2-4 hunters with 1-2 dogs.
Upland game bird is an American term which refers to non-waterfowl game birds in groundcover-rich terrestrial ecosystems above wetlands and riparian zones, which are commonly hunted with gun dogs.
Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot to hunt for venison, leisure, trophy, or to control their numbers. As part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting and boar hunting. Deer hunted in the UK are red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, sika deer, muntjac, water deer, and hybrids of these deers.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, whose mission is to promote and protect sporting shooting and the well-being of the countryside throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. It has a membership of over 150,000. Its magazine Shooting and Conservation had an average circulation of around 135,000 in 2017.
Romania has a long history of hunting and remains a remarkable hunting destination, drawing many hunters because of its large numbers of brown bears, wolves, wild boars, red deer, and chamois. The concentration of brown bears in the Carpathian Mountains of central Romania is largest in the world and contains half of all Europe's population, except Russia.
Game preservation is maintaining a stock of game to be hunted legally. It includes:
A professional hunter is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional hunters work in the private sector or for government agencies and manage species that are considered overabundant, others are self-employed and make a living by selling hides and meat, while still others guide clients on big-game hunts.
Australia has a population of about 26 million while the Commonwealth Government estimating there are 640,000 recreational hunters in the country. There are around 6 million legally owned guns in Australia, ranging from airguns to single-shot, bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action or semi-automatic firearms.
Duck hunting is an outdoor recreational activity practised under a permit system in the Australian state of South Australia. Hunters use shotguns and are provided with permits issued by the Department of Environment and Water. The activity is opposed by animal welfare groups who consider the practice to be unacceptably cruel.
Hunting is a significant subsistence and recreational activity in the United States. Regulation of hunting began in the 19th century. Some modern hunters see themselves as conservationists. American hunting tradition values fair chase, which values the balance between the hunter and the animals. A 2006 poll showed that 78% of Americans support hunting. 6% of Americans have hunted. Hunting is most popular in the Midwest.
Hunting is a significant regulated subsistence and recreational activity in Spain with a long-recorded history. The country is widely considered one of the most relevant hunting destinations in the world, backed by the variety of its species, climates, terrains as well as sheer size and relatively low density of human population. With almost 1 million licenses in 2017, it is the second country with most hunters in Europe. Internationally, it is also the second country that imports most big-game hunting trophies from overseas after the United States.
