A new YouGov survey asked Americans about their personal experiences with hunting, as well as their opinions of hunting for sport and for food. Three in 10 Americans have been hunting, and those who have personal experience doing so are more likely than those who haven’t to support hunting for recreation as well as hunting for food. However, large majorities of Americans say there are certain animals that people should not be allowed to hunt, including bald eagles, dolphins, and songbirds.
30% of Americans have been hunting. People who live in rural areas are more likely than people who live elsewhere to have ever been hunting (43% vs 27%). Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to have ever been hunting (41% vs. 20%).
Men are about twice as likely as women to have ever been hunting (43% vs. 19%).
How frequently do Americans go hunting? 2% say they go often, 6% go sometimes, and 18% go rarely. About three-quarters (74%) of Americans never go hunting.
16% of Americans say they have killed an animal while hunting. Americans who live in rural areas are about twice as likely as those who live elsewhere to say they have killed an animal while hunting (26% vs. 14%).
About one-quarter (23%) of Americans support hunting for recreation. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support recreational hunting (35% vs. 13%), as are Americans who have ever been hunting relative to those who haven't (39% vs. 16%).
Men are twice as likely as women to say they support hunting for recreation (32% vs. 15%).
Americans are far more likely to support people hunting for food (73%) than for recreation (23%). Majorities of both Republicans (85%) and Democrats (63%) support hunting for food . Support is slightly higher among people who live in towns (80%) and rural areas (76%) than among those who live in suburbs (72%) or cities (68%).
Among people who have ever been hunting, 90% support hunting animals for food. 65% of Americans who have never been hunting agree.
36% of Americans say that hunting in the U.S. should be more regulated; about as many (34%) say there should be no change in regulation. Less (9%) think that hunting should be less regulated.
Women are more likely than men to say hunting should be more regulated (42% vs. 30%). 53% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans agree.
People who have been hunting are more likely than those who have never been hunting to say there should be no change in regulation (49% vs. 28%) and that there should be less regulation (18% vs. 5%).
City dwellers (41%) and suburban dwellers (38%) are more likely than those who live in towns (31%) and rural areas (30%) to say hunting should be more regulated.
What animals are Americans hunting? 21% have gone hunting for deer; less have hunted rabbits (12%), squirrels (12%), turkeys (8%), pheasants (7%), or ducks (7%).
Americans who live in rural areas are more likely than those who don't to have gone hunting for deer (30% vs. 18%), squirrels (24% vs. 9%), and rabbits (21% vs. 10%).
Majorities of Americans say people should be allowed to hunt turkeys (71%), deer (69%), wild hogs (68%), rabbits (61%), ducks (59%), quail (54%), and geese (54%). Fewer say people should be able to hunt doves (36%), bears (37%), and moose (40%).
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say people should be allowed to hunt each of the 18 of 19 animals asked about (the exception, bald eagles, was asked on a different question). The largest gaps between Republicans and Democrats for 12 more commonly hunted animals are about whether people in the U.S. should be allowed to hunt bears (51% vs. 23%), moose (55% vs. 28%), and quail (67% vs. 40%).
Americans are less likely to support hunting several more exotic or rare animals. While 55% think people should be allowed to hunt alligators in the U.S., much smaller shares of Americans think people should be allowed to hunt wolves (28%), mountain lions (26%), songbirds (7%), or whales (7%). Even less Americans think people should be allowed to hunt dolphins (5%) or bald eagles (4%).
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say people in the U.S. should be allowed to hunt wolves (42% vs. 15%), alligators (68% vs. 45%), and mountain lions (37% vs. 15%).
Small shares of Americans think hunters should be able to import certain animals into the U.S. after hunting and killing them in other countries. Only 13% say hunters should be allowed to import lions, and equal shares say hunters should be allowed to bring into the country leopards (13%) or cheetahs (13%) that they’ve killed. Even smaller shares of Americans say they hunters be allowed to import rhinoceroses (9%), giraffes (9%), or elephants (8%).
Related:
- Most Americans have lived in a household with a gun
- Americans prefer more, not less, regulation of dozens of major industries
- Americans are evenly divided on whether the average person can be trusted with a gun
See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted August 15 - 17, 2025 among 1,102 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
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