What is the purpose of hunting seasons?

I'm assuming there are good reasons other than some bureaucrat's need for control. How did hunting seasons get started and what purpose do they serve?What is the purpose of hunting seasons?
Aquakit gave a good answer!


How it got started was that in the late summer to fall was the mating season for many herbivores such as deer, moose and elk. So the animals would be more concentrated during the rut and gathering for the fall migration with some. This was also harvest time for locals and the ambient tempreture was getting lower allowing for less spoilage of meat. However man hunted year round to feed their families. In the USA it became clear regulations were needed to prevent over harvest. It was the hunter president Teddy Roosevelt that helped pass many laws to save wildlife and set aside national parks. Before that some were actually using punt gun and cannons filled with shot to kill hundreds of waterfowl at once, that was then sold for food. The fall was selected for some game to allow them to care for their young. Biologists and wildlife agencies have adjusted the seasons over the decades to what we have now.





Its now set up to reduce over population in a given area to control disease, reduce auto deer accidents, reduce crop damage, property damage, prevent over grazing and provide food for hunters. The money the hunters spend on permits, licenses etc are then invested in wildlife habitat, wildlife research and agencies that helps the animals and their environment.What is the purpose of hunting seasons?
Ok, the deer's mating season is called the rut, and not all states have a hunting season that coincides with it (here in WI our deer season is slightly after the rut).





You don't want to be hunting the animals when they have young, so the hunting season must be placed accordingly. You also don't want to disproportionately harvest animals. You want a nice balance for proper population control. It all depends on which animal it is and where you are located. The winter cold starts earlier up north and later down south.
Hunting seasons and regulations are very important, if hunters harvested too many or too little animals problems could occur such as too much food for the animal or not enough.


If there were open hunting seasons all year, some animals could go extinct or their population could be hurt greatly, and when they are being hunted it's hard for them to breed therefor the breeding seasons are usually restricted or limited for hunting, and if they let you hunt in the spring for big game, you could possibly shoot a mother and kill the babies hurting the population and killing them inhumanly.


If not hunted enough, there could be too many animals causing unneccesary diseases which nearly wipe out the population, not enough food causing famine, damaging peoples property and farmers land more than ever and causing unhealthy herds.





Hunting is a neccesary proccess, but it must have it's limitations.
They serve to control the population of certain animals that have the possibility of overtaking an area. The reason many animals can only be hunted during certain seasons is because they can't be hunted during their reproductive seasons. That would disrupt their ability to produce offspring, and the purpose of hunting seasons [and hunting in general] is not to make an animal extinct, but control the population
the purpose of a hunting season is to prevent over hunting of a certain species or gender of animal. also, during the warmer months, an animal is more likely to have an infestation of parasites (like worms, fleas, etc..) that can be harmful to a person who comes in contact with it or eats the animal.


and usually the seasons are when the animals breeding season is, which means it (for say) is easier to harvest the animal because they will be more responsive to calls/scents (if used) and they'll be a hair less aware of their surroundings- but ALL animals are VERY aware of their surroundings
The hunting season are determined by the states conservation departments. Biologists determine the times between breeding cycles for game species that would be least detrimental to the population. That's when the Hunting season begins. State biologists also determine what sex, size and number of the game animals that can be harvested. That way a healthy population can be maintained through out the year.
actual hunting seasons started back in the 1700's and was one of the reasons many a wanderer kept going west to escape Govt control. I suppose it does also keep every body from running out and exterminating all the wild life. It's both a boon and a bane.( to fellas like me)
It's mostly based on when the animals breed. It is to control the population numbers. For example, when deers breed, the does will be taking care of the babies. If you shoot a doe, you basically kill it's young. So when they breed, you can't kill does. But you can kill them when breeding season is over and they have no young.


It's a way to regulate the population of the animals.
* Primarily for Conservation and Food purposes.* It is a Renewable Resource that way by having Seasons and Bag or Harvesting Limits on the Wildlife it guarantees a healthy supply of Wildlife that can support itself in the Wild Outdoors.*
Deer hunting season generally runs throughout their breeding season. It give hunters a better chance to bag a deer, they're a lot smarter than you think.
Lot's of good answers here, but beeds covered it all and said it best. A good accurate representation of why be have hunting seasons and how they came about.My hat's off to beeds!
During the last depression all most all wild game was taken for food . So states came up with hunting seasons .
um....food?