Hunting Early Game Laws in Europe
Uploaded by MTKID on Apr 03, 2007
Hunting does not really have rules, but it has regulations and laws. Early game laws in Europe were enacted to make hunting the sole privilege of the nobility and to prevent poaching; in the 19th century such laws were generally modified to allow anyone with a license to hunt. Game laws in the U.S. are directed at protecting wildlife from indiscriminate slaughter and capture, restricting the taking and molestation of game to certain so-called open periods of the year, or prohibiting the hunting and killing of game entirely. Apart from the states' police power, the ownership of fish and game resides in the people of the states. Where no individual has any property rights to be affected, the legislature, as the representative of the people, may withhold or grant to individuals the right to hunt and kill game or may qualify or restrict that right. In other words, under U.S. law the hunting and killing of game is a privilege rather than a right.
Each of the 50 states has its own game laws, which are administered by fish and game commissions or by other agencies. Under most statutes, the
possession or sale of certain fish or game during certain so-called closed seasons is prohibited. Occasionally these statutes expressly apply only to game caught within the state, but in most states these statutes have been held to apply to out-of-season possession or sale of game whether or not it was caught within the state. Certain statutes place limitations on the age, sex, or size of game allowed to be hunted, and bag limits per hunter may be set for the day or for the hunting season. Many states require hunting and fishing licenses, for which a fee is charged, that permit the taking of certain varieties during stipulated periods. Where waters lay between two states the right of fishery is generally regulated by an agreement between the two states.
When lands or waters are owned by a private individual, the right of hunting or fishing belongs to the owner or tenant. The owner of land on both sides of a stream has the right to fish in the stream, but the rights of the owner of land on one side only extend to the center of the stream.
The leisured nobility of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome enjoyed hunting for sport. Greek historian Xenophon argued that hunting is an asset to society,...