Hunting and Sport Fishing License - Americana

Hunting and fishing license for a resident of Nashville, Tennesse. $2 Trout Stamp on reverse side. Measures 3 3/4" x 2 1/4".

A hunting license is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control hunting.

Hunting may be regulated informally by unwritten law, self-restraint, a moral code, or by governmental laws.

The purposes for requiring hunting licenses include the protection of natural treasures, and raising tax revenue (often, but not always, to dedicated funds).

Hunting licenses are millennia old.

Hunting licenses have several purposes. These reasons include: public safety (especially of children, both as hunters and bystanders), regulation and conservation of wild animals, revenue for the sovereign state, and containing the transmission of animal-borne diseases (such as Lyme disease and rabies). The safety issues are especially highlighted in urban areas and shopping districts. For example, after in an incident in November 2012 whereby a man allegedly shot at a deer in a Walmart parking lot in Pennsylvania, he was charged with "reckless endangerment, ... hunting without a license, shooting on or across highways and unlawful killing or taking of big game."

All firearm owners and users in Australia require a firearm's licence, but normally do not require a licence to hunt. Most target species are feral or introduced species, and almost all native animals are protected. Landowners may obtain a "Destruction Permit" to kill or remove native species when their numbers impact agriculture. Hunting in New South Wales national parks requires a R-licence issued by the Game Council, but (as of mid-2013) this situation has been suspended pending review. Professional hunters are issued what is sometimes referred to as a D-licence, but rather than being a hunting licence this is a category of firearms that includes semi-automatics and large capacity magazines.

Hunting regulation and licensing falls under both provincial/territorial and federal jurisdiction. The federal government is responsible for protecting migratory birds and nationally significant wildlife habitat, the regulation for endangered species and the international wildlife issues and treaties (i.e. CITES) for Canada. For example, Migratory Game Bird Hunting licence is issued by the Canadian Wildlife Service, an agency of Environment Canada. All other matters fall under the provincial/territorial jurisdiction.

The use of firearms in hunting is also separated into provincial/territorial and federal jurisdiction. Whereas the Canadian Firearms Program will determine who is eligible for a Possession and Acquisition Licence and issuance of firearm registration certificates, it is the provincial/territorial government's responsibility to regulate when and how the firearms can be used in hunting animals.

In Quebec hunter education and licensing is managed by the Fédération Québécoise de la Faune. Sécurité Nature, a program managed by the FQF, offers a variety of hunting education courses that allow residents to hunt legally after obtaining their licence and a permit at designated outlets (most hunting & fishing stores, Canadian Tires, etc.) for a fee.

A German hunting license is a certificate that grants its holder the exercise of hunting within legal ordinances. It is also the precondition to own hunting arms and ammunition (unlimited number of rifles/shotguns and up to two handguns). The actual right to exercise hunting in a specific area is entitled to the respective landowners (if they own an area of more than 0.75 square kilometres (190 acres), otherwise all landowners of a municipality are integrated into an association) who may use their right for themselves or lease it. Depending on size and value of a hunting area a typical leasing rate may vary from about US$10–100 per acre per year. Additionally the lesse has to pay the landowner any damage by deers, wild hogs etc. The right to hunt is connected to the duty to care for all kind of animals listed by the hunting laws. For several species such as deers plans have to be developed by hunters and authorities, how many animals of a specified class and age may (or have to) be killed within a certain period of time. The purpose of the hunting license is to ensure that only well trained persons may exercise hunting. Applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

• Successful completion of a hunting exam,
• Certificate of a liability insurance for hunters,
• Personal trustworthiness (§ 5 German Weapons Act),
• Applicants must be at least 16 years for a Youth Hunting License, otherwise 18 years,
• Flawless Criminal record.

The hunting exam is a test of expertise with a high failure rate. To pass it, each applicant has to participate in a comprehensive, difficult instruction course which consists largely of the areas shooting (shotgun and rifle), theory (esp. weaponry, local wildlife and habitat) and practice.

In practice the German system of examination for deer hunters (stalkers) is very much in line with the English DMQ level DSC2. Over the last ten years or so European countries in general have made efforts to harmonise the previously fragmented rules and regulations with parallels being taken from the more difficult UK system.

In the United States, regulation of hunting is primarily performed by state law; additional regulations are imposed through Federal environmental law regarding migratory birds (such as ducks and geese) and endangered species.

Like many licenses, a hunting license is considered a privilege granted by the government, rather than a constitutional right under the Second Amendment.

As a general rule, unprotected pest species are not subject to a hunting license. Vermin may be hunted without a license, or may even be the subject of a bounty paid to the hunter.

A Federal law, the Airborne Hunting Act (AHA), was passed in 1971 with the goal of eliminating aerial hunting, that is, shooting wildlife from planes or helicopters.

Each state has different standards and paperwork requirements for getting a hunting license. These include the areas, time periods, harvesting techniques, distinctions between species, and a hunting safety course.

Licenses to hunt typically go on sale once a year. Some states, such as New York, allow only during a defined single season, or for a lifetime during such seasons for residents of the state, upon payment of the appropriate fees. As a general rule, hunting licenses are non-transferable, are a privilege (not a right), and does not allow trespass on private land.

Hunting big game typically requires a tag for each animal harvested. Tags must be purchased in addition to the hunting license, and the number of tags issued to an individual is typically limited. In cases where there are more prospective hunters than the quota for that species, tags are usually assigned by lottery. Tags may be further restricted to a specific area or wildlife management unit.

States with these "tags" include Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

49 of the 50 states require a prospective big game hunter take a several-hour course about safety, often termed sportsman education or "hunter's safety course" in the case of California.

Such jurisdictions also may limit getting a hunting license to adults or may grant a "junior" license for persons as young as twelve years of age.

Several United States and Canadian provinces have joined in an Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC) to control interstate hunting and to punish violators of differing laws.

Federal law requires the purchase of a duck stamp in order to shoot migratory waterfowl. They are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

United States law also mandates strict limits on the hunting ("taking") of endangered species. The U.S. is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Bush Administration proposed lifting some restrictions in 2005 (for antelopes), as did the Norwegian Government (for wolves) in the same year.

Both Federal and state laws exempt the following:

1. Pest species, as noted above, such as rodents. There is a false urban legend that a hunting license is required to trap mice.
2. Native Americans based on Native American treaties; some states require residency on a Native American reservation. The Supreme Court of the United States held in Menominee Tribe v. United States that Congress must affirmatively take away Native Americans' hunting rights; otherwise, Native Americans are presumed to have such rights and do not required hunting licenses.
3. Specific statutes, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act and eagle feather laws (see below).
4. Alaskan Natives.
5. Active service members of the military, who often get free licenses.
6. The blind.
7. Sport hunting for targets.
8. Youth are usually exempt from paying for a hunting or fishing license, but this varies by state from those under 12 years old to those under 16 years of age.

The Eagle feather law, (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable American Indian ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. American Indians and non-American Indians frequently contest the value and validity of the Eagle feather law, charging that the law is laden with discriminatory racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. Their arguments include that the law does not allow American Indians to give eagle feathers to non-American Indians, a common modern and traditional practice. (Many non-American Indians have been adopted into American Indian families, made tribal members, and given eagle feathers.)

Some hunters have challenged hunting licenses, as being in violation of the right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by Second Amendment to the United States Constitution; the Supreme Court of the US in February 2008, heard arguments on the proper standard of review for gun laws or regulations. However, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court declined to examine the broader issues, leaving state hunting licenses valid and in force.

The current law is unclear as to what standard of review would apply, but the rational basis or arbitrary and capricious tests are the most likely standards. Under either standard, most hunting license regimes in the United States would likely pass muster, due to the need to conserve natural resources, to enforce the police power, and to raise revenue, all valid purposes of such laws.

Most major conservation organizations in the US favor the continued legality and regulation of hunting, including Ducks Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, and The Wilderness Society. The Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, and the World Wildlife Fund also support licenses for regulated hunting of wildlife.

The Sierra Club supports hunting licenses, but there has been tension in the group for two decades between those who want to ally with hunters and to regulate them, and those opposed to hunting altogether.

The American Humane Association and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are opposed to hunting, and would ban the practice rather than regulating it.

A fishing license (US), fishing licence (UK), or fishing permit is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control fishing. Licensing is one mechanism of fisheries management and may be required for either commercial or recreational fishing.

In 1765, the Chinese Qing dynasty government required all fishing boat operators to obtain a fishing license under the aojia system that regulated coastal populations. The Dan boat people of Guangdong had to acquire a fishing license as early as 1729. The wooden license issued by the government was to be displayed on the bow or stern of a boat. The information on the license consisted of the name and age of the boat's owner, the ship's status as either a fishing or commercial vessel, the home port of the boat, crew and family members on board, the date the license was issued, and the registration number of the license.

Depending on the jurisdiction, licenses or permits may be required by a government, a property owner, or both.

The government requires a rod licence for anyone over the age of 12 who fishes in England, Wales or the Border Esk area in Scotland for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eels. In addition, anyone who fishes in a non-estuarine stream, lake, or canal needs a permit from the owner of the fishing rights to the water body, which might be a local angling club, a landowner with riparian rights, or an organization such as the Canal & River Trust.

In Ireland, rights to fish in non-tidal freshwater also are owned either by the government or by private entities such as angling club. The ownership of fishing rights in Ireland derives from the confiscation of lands by the British Crown in the 17th century; the boundaries of fishing rights areas typically follow the boundaries of estates granted by the Crown.

The U.S. state of Oregon instituted a requirement for commercial fishing licenses in 1899, the same year that the state's sturgeon fishery had collapsed due to over-harvesting. Oregon began requiring recreational fishing licenses in 1901. Indiana began issuing hunting licenses in 1901 and added fishing privileges to its hunting license in 1913. The state of Pennsylvania first issued recreational fishing licenses in 1919. Licenses were required only for nonresidents, and only 50 licenses were issued that first year. In 1922, when the state first required licenses for state residents, over 2,700 nonresident licenses and over 200,000 resident licenses were sold.

Some countries don't require a license for recreational sea fishing, provided that certain rules in regard to fish size, numbers and total catch are followed.

Recreational fishing in the sea does not require a license in certain spots. Size limits need to be followed. Also need to have a freshwater permit when fishing on certain seadocks.

Sea angling and spear fishing without diving equipment is allowed with no licence. Multiple species including seals, dolphins and turtles are protected.

Estonians have a life-long right to fish with one simple hand line in waters owned by the state and local governments, provided that regulations about species, sizes and seasons are followed.

No license is necessary for recreational sea fishing. There are many detailed regulations about fish species, size limits, fishing methods and prohibited areas.

Sea fishing from the coast and from the boat is free for both residents and visitors, although there are minimum fish rules and other regulations.

For fishing in public coastal waters (Baltic sea and the west coast) no license is necessary. Foreign citizens are also allowed to fish in these waters without a license, but only with hand held gear. License free fishing is legal along the sea coast (in many cases also on private land along the coast) and in Sweden's five largest lakes – Vänern, Vättern, Hjälmaren, Mälaren and Storsjön. In the rest of the country, fishing without a license is not permitted and several thousand fishing areas exist, each with their individual fishing permits and local regulations. Fishing permits are available in most of Sweden's fresh waters, but not all.

Fishing licence for sea fishing is not required in most of the places in the United Kingdom. For salmon and sea trout game licence is required regardless of location. In places where saltwater and freshwater cross over the regulations are complicated and licence may be required.

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