Hunting is stalking for the purpose of prey, the pursuit and the very prey of wild animals and birds, one of the oldest branches of human activity.
Hunting tourism is one of the most expensive types of tourism, sports and outdoor activities, it is very peculiar, provides not only tourists stay in attractive places for them, but also provides them with the opportunity to engage in an unusual type of activity, that is, hunting. A specific feature of such tourism is obtaining various licenses that allow hunting, fishing, and the export of trophies. Hunting tourism is associated with a certain risk, therefore, highly qualified instructors are needed to ensure the safety of hunting tours. As mentioned above, this type of tourism has a fairly high cost, so it can be classified as an elite holiday.
The main purpose of hunting tourism is hunting. The word “hunting” usually refers to the process of tracking, searching and getting wild animals or birds that are in a state of natural freedom. But this definition does not fully reflect the importance of hunting in human life and human society.
Undoubtedly, the ultimate goal of hunting is the extraction of game and obtaining hunting products. There was a time when hunting gave a person almost everything necessary for life: meat, fat for food, skins and fur for clothing and housing, even many tools were made from hunting products.
With the growth of the productive forces of human society, the development and improvement of agriculture, cattle breeding and other forms of use of natural resources, hunting has lost its primary role, but to this day its importance remains enormous.
The most valuable huning products are furs, the value of which does not decrease even in the conditions of mass production of textiles, knitwear. Hunting also provides meat products, various raw materials for the food, fur processing and pharmaceutical industries. However, the value of hunting is not even exhausted by obtaining all these values.
If hunting is a labor process for hunters, a source of livelihood, then for the vast majority of hunters, it is not the ultimate goal of hunting that is more important, but its process itself – tracking, lying in wait or chasing cautious game. Hunting develops a person’s powers of observation, endurance, the ability to disguise, overcome obstacles, navigate unfamiliar terrain, shoot quickly and accurately, and staying outdoors, communicating with nature strengthen strength and health. Therefore, every cultured hunter, as a rule, is a good naturalist, carefully observing the life of nature during the hunt. And he gets satisfaction not from the amount of game killed, but because of the ability to feel nature, understand it and be able to enjoy it.
Hunting is subdivided:
- for the purposes of:
- a) commercial hunting is one of the sources of people’s existence, a means to earn money and feed yourself and your family;
- b) sport hunting or hunting tourism is a way of entertainment, active recreation. Hunters themselves spend money on hunting of this kind.
- by means used in hunting:
- a) rifle hunting;
- b) hunting with hunting animals;
- c) hunting with the help of poisons, sleeping pills;
- d) hunting with the use of self-propelled guns.
- as a separate type of hunting, photo hunting is distinguished.
Depending on the purposes of hunting, commercial, amateur sports and scientific hunting are conditionally distinguished. Commercial hunting is aimed at extracting animals for furs, meat and other products for the needs of the population and industry, as well as for export. This hunt produces valuable fur and hoofed animals (except temporarily or permanently prohibited), hog and waterfowl. Sports and amateur hunting, along with the main goal — the extraction of game (part of which becomes marketable products) develops physical fitness and special skills of athletes; hunting tourism is developing on its basis. The objects of sport hunting are hog, steppe, waterfowl and swamp game, hare, fox, wolf, hoofed animals. Scientific hunting is conducted on the instructions of research institutions for the study of hunting fauna, diseases of wild animals, hunting, local history (stuffed wild animals are replenished museums and scientific collections).
On harmful animals (hamsters, water rats, ground squirrels, wolves in places where they greatly harm agriculture), extermination hunting was sometimes allowed with all modern tools and methods.
Shooting and trapping of game is regulated by laws, government regulations and other regulations aimed at the rational use, conservation and restoration of stocks of useful wild animals.
Hunting tourism is one of the modern types of tourism, when the bases offer the organization of hunting for animals and birds. Tourist bases also provide rental of hunting equipment.
Tourist sport hunting is organized by special companies for a high license fee (especially high in the countries of Southeast Asia and Africa).
Hunting organized in Russia by members of the Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz Association is particularly popular among foreign hunters. According to the Association, spring hunting for grouse and grouse is of great interest to foreign hunters. Austrian and German hunters show a special predilection for this hunt. They come, as a rule, in groups of 10-15 people. Spring 2010 was no exception. The most successful hunting for grouse and grouse was organized by Yaroslavl, Kirov, Volgograd, Vladimir, Tver societies of hunters and fishermen.
In the spring of 2010, American hunters were very interested in hunting brown bears in Kamchatka. The Kamchatka Society of hunters conducted such hunts in the hunting grounds assigned to it. The hunts were productive. The trophies of the captured animals are amazing in their size. Individual bear skins reached up to 3m in length .
In the autumn hunting season, the greatest interest of foreign hunters is caused by hunting European elk, Siberian roe deer, snow sheep, Kuban tur, maral.