Is hunting and fishing for sport allowed?

Islam forbids taking life unnecessarily. Killing an animal is permitted when it is eaten, or when it seriously threatens crops and so people's livelihood, but not for mere amusement. Fishing is therefore permitted when the fish is also eaten.

The principle is clear. No one has the right to destroy life without need. Animals are part of creation and have their own place within it. That is why every killing needs a real reason.

There are two such reasons. The first is food. Whoever hunts an animal or catches a fish in order to eat it does nothing forbidden. The second is protecting people's livelihood. When animals destroy fields, fruit trees and harvests so badly that people's food supply is endangered, they may be killed.

Proportion matters here. A bird that is not eaten, but pecks a few grains from the field in order to survive, must not be killed for that. Only when animals have eaten their fill and still go on to destroy the crop as a whole may one defend oneself. This principle applies to all hunting and to all killing of harmful animals.

With fox hunting, it is often said that foxes would ravage farms if they were not hunted. Whether that is true must be honestly examined. If they really do so much damage that people's living is threatened, their numbers may be reduced. But that does not require a chase with hounds for pleasure.

With fishing, the question is simple. Whoever eats the fish may fish. But whoever only catches for the sake of the catch and then throws the fish away takes a life for no reason. The sport itself is not the problem. What matters is whether the life one takes serves a real purpose.