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Hunting is, in its most general sense, the pursuit of a target. It is most commonly applied to the practice of pursuing animals to capture or kill them for food, sport, or trade in their products. Beasts so hunted are referred to as game animals. Hunting is also done to control varmint populations or as wildlife management to reduce animal populations which have exceeded the capacity of their range or when individual animals have become a danger to humans.

As hunting moved from a strictly necessary activity for survival to one of many staples of society, two trends emerged. One was that of the specialist hunter - a position previously held by just about every able-bodied male (usually) in the society. As domesticated farming and herding took hold, hunting became one of many trades to be pursued by those with the necessary training.

The other trend was the emergence of hunting as a sport. As game became more of a luxury than a necessity, the pursuit of it could equally well be considered a luxury pursuit. In medieval Europe, it was common for upper-class families to claim the sole rights to hunt in certain areas of territory. Game in these areas was certainly used as a source of food and furs, often provided via professional huntsmen; but it was also expected to provide a form of recreation for the aristocracy. The importance of this proprietary view of game can be seen in the Robin Hood legends, in which one of the primary charges against the outlaws is that they "hunt the King's deer".

The safari method of hunting was a development of sport hunting that saw elaborate travel in Africa, India and other places in pursuit of trophies. In modern times, trophy hunting persists, but is frowned upon when it involves rare or endangered species of animal. Other people also object to trophy hunting in general because it is seen as a senseless act of killing another living being for fun.

In the United States, hunting is no longer associated with any particular class. Today's hunters come from a broad range of economic, social, and cultural backgrounds. American hunters usually see themselves as more in tune with nature and often see themselves as environmentalists or conservationists. Almost all hunting organizations in the United States donate large amounts of money as well as time to conservation and habitat protection. Although other types of environmentalists would dispute the hunters' green credentials, many would nevertheless agree that hunting an animal in the wild is more humane than keeping the animal under factory farming conditions. One spokesman for this form of hunting has been the former rock star Ted Nugent. Hunting in the United States has been associated with the issues of Gun politics. One task of park rangers and game wardens is to enforce laws and regulations related to hunting and to enforce laws which ban hunting in some areas.

Varmint hunting is the killing of animals seen as a nuisance. Often no use is made of the carcass after killing. Which species this includes depends on the circumstances of the area involved. Varmint species are often responsible for detrimental effects on crops, livestock, landscaping, infrastructure, and pets. Rabbits are varmints in Australia but game in other countries. Common varmints include coyotes, crows, foxes, and prairie dogs. Laws concerning hunting nuisance animals are often more liberal than those concerning game animals. Some animals once considered varmints are now protected, such as wolves.

Animal management authorities sometimes rely on hunting to control certain animal populations. These hunts are sometimes carried out by professional hunters although other hunts include amateurs. Overpopulations of deer in urban parks and bears which have attacked humans might be hunted by animal management authorities