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Game (hunting)

Wild animals under pursuit or taken in hunting

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By continent and region

The range of animal species hunted by humans varies in different parts of the world. This is influenced by climate, faunal diversity, popular taste and locally accepted views about what can or cannot be legitimately hunted. Sometimes a distinction is also made between varieties and breeds of a particular animal, such as wild turkey and domestic turkey. The flesh of the animal, when butchered for consumption, is often described as having a "gamey" flavour. This difference in taste can be attributed to the natural diet of the animal, which usually results in a lower fat content compared to domestic farm-raised animals.

In some countries, game is classified, including legal classifications with respect to licenses required, as either "small game" or "large game". A single small game licence may cover all small game species and be subject to yearly bag limits. Large game are often subject to individual licensing where a separate permit is required for each individual animal taken (tags).

Africa

In some parts of Africa, wild animals hunted for their meat are called bushmeat. Animals hunted for bushmeat include, but are not limited to:

Some of these animals are endangered or otherwise protected, and thus it is illegal to hunt them.

In Africa, animals hunted for their pelts or ivory are sometimes referred to as big game.

Also see the legal definition of game in Eswatini.

South Africa

South Africa is a famous destination for game hunting, with its large biodiversity and therefore impressive variety of game species. Many creatures have returned to former areas from which they were once taken as a result of being killed for big-game hunting. Commonly hunted species include:

South Africa also has 62 species of gamebirds, including guineafowl, francolin, partridge, quail, sandgrouse, duck, geese, snipe, bustard and korhaan. Some of these species are no longer hunted, and of the 44 indigenous gamebirds that can potentially be utilised in South Africa, only three, namely the yellow-throated sandgrouse, Delegorgue's pigeon and the African pygmy goose warrant special protection. Of the remaining 41 species, 24 have shown an increase in numbers and distribution range in the last 25 years or so. The status of 14 species appears unchanged, with insufficient information being available for the remaining three species. The gamebirds of South Africa where the population status in 2005 was secure or growing are listed below:

  • Helmeted guineafowl
  • Greywing partridge
  • Redwing partridge
  • Orange River partridge
  • Cape francolin
  • Natal francolin
  • Swainson's francolin
  • Common quail
  • Harlequin quail
  • Namaqua sandgrouse
  • Double-banded sandgrouse
  • Burchell's sandgrouse
  • White-faced duck
  • Egyptian goose
  • Yellow-billed duck
  • Red-billed teal
  • Cape shoveler
  • Southern pochard
  • Knob-billed duck
  • Spur-winged goose

Oceania

Australia

In Australia, game includes:

New Zealand

Game in New Zealand includes:

North America

Canada and the United States

Wild game has historically be a major element in United States cooking, and was frequently stocked in markets until the late nineteenth century. Venison in particular made up a large portion of many diets, and was frequently listed alongside other meats rather than as part of a single category of "game". In the present game is however commonly eaten only as an occasional delicacy, and is rare except for small animals such as squirrel and rabbit. Small game birds such as American robin, thrush, snipe, and woodcock were also frequently hunted, and were commonly roasted with the digestive tract, referred to as the "tail", left in the body.

Brunswick stew is a dish from Virginia traditionally made using the meat of small game animals, such as squirrel, rabbit or opossum. In the present, however, chicken and domestic rabbit are sometimes substituted for hunted meat. Burgoo is another game stew from Indiana and Kentucky developed by frontiersmen, who made it from a mixture of whatever meats were available, frequently including squirrel and rabbit. Venison is also sometimes used. Modern recipes, however, also tend to use meat from domestic animals.

In the United States and Canada, white-tailed deer are the most commonly hunted big game. Other game species include:

Reptiles and amphibians

Birds (predator)

Birds (upland game birds)

Birds (waterfowl)

Birds (shorebirds)

  • Wilson's snipe
  • Woodcock

Ungulates

Carnivores

Rodents

Misc. mammals

Caribbean

The Caribbean has various species, most of these species are considered delicacies.

Reptiles and amphibians

Waterfowl

  • Blue winged teal
  • White cheeked pintail
  • West indian whistling duck
  • Masked duck
  • Wood duck
  • American coot
  • Common gallinule
  • Purple gallinule

Upland gamebirds

Wading birds

  • Limpkin
  • Whimbrel
  • Lesser yellowlegs
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Pectoral sandpiper
  • White ibis

Mammals

Asia

People's Republic of China

In the PRC there is a special cuisine category called yewei, which includes animals in the wild.

Russia

Europe

United Kingdom

In the UK, game is defined in law by the Game Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 32). It is illegal to shoot game on Sundays or at night. Other non-game birds that are hunted for food in the UK are specified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. UK law defines game as including:

Deer are not included in the definition, but similar controls provided to those in the Game Act apply to deer (from the Deer Act 1991). Deer hunted in the UK are:

Other animals which are hunted in the UK include:

Capercaillie are not currently hunted in the UK because of a recent decline in numbers and conservation projects towards their recovery. The ban is generally considered voluntary on private lands, and few birds live away from RSPB or Forestry Commission land allegedly.

Iceland

In Iceland game includes:

Nordic countries

Game in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland includes:

Poland

In Poland, legal game includes:
Big game

Small game

Germany

In Germany legal game includes:

  • Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) - most common.
  • European fallow deer (Dama dama L.)
  • Wild boar (Sus scrofa L.)
  • Red deer (Cervus elaphus L.)
  • Sika deer
  • European mufflon
  • Chamois (only lives in Bavaria)
  • European hare and European rabbit
  • Red fox
  • Racoon dog
  • European badger
  • Stoat, European polecat, least weasel, pine marten and beech marten
  • Racoon
  • Greater rhea (only lives in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
  • Mute swan
  • Canada goose, Egyptian goose, greylag goose, bean goose, greater white-fronted goose, brent goose and ruddy shelduck
  • Mallard, northern pintail, Eurasian teal, European wigeon, tufted duck, common pochard, greater scaup, velvet scoter and common scoter
  • Ring-necked pheasant
  • Grey partridge
  • Wild turkey (only lives in North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • Wood pigeon and Eurasian collared dove

The German hunting laws list animals like moose, European bison, brown bear, harbour seal, western capercaillie, greater bustard and birds of prey as game even though there are no hunting seasons for them as they're endangered in Germany. Hunting in Germany is very restricted, and it is really hard to practice without living in Germany for a long time.

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