Hunting in America began far before the establishment of the United States. The Native Americans usually hunted for sport and food. The weapons used then varied from spears to bows with arrows. The species targeted were such as deer, elk, foxes, coyotes, bison, wolves, bears, cougars, alligators, and many others, some of which are protected today due to overhunting.
Before the 1900s
In the mid-1600s to 1700s, the hunting dynamics began to change. When many tribes of Native Americans were forced out of their land or moved to different places, the European settlers took over the vast expanses. It is believed that in 1650, the European settler Robert Brooke in Maryland established the first pack of hunting canines. Since then, the practice became popular all over the colonies and went into the establishment of the United States. While this practice has been outlawed in many states since the early 1800s, some regions still allow it to this very day,
After the 1900s
When it came to the 1900s, the overhunting problem, which had been long overlooked, came into full aspect. Many of the species were overhunted almost to the edge of extinction, and some of them were utterly wiped out. For example, the American bison and passenger pigeon; in 1850, the bison had approximately 60 million wild population, but at the end of the century, it dwindled to only 150; and the pigeon had about three to five billion soaring through the skies in the 1800s, but by the early 1900s, it had been wiped out.
Hunting in America has experienced many ups and downs. The primary downs are that America has become more and more populated. The ups are thanks to the great conservation efforts during the past 100 years, and many species have been pulled from the edge of extinction back to overabundance.
