Pierson v Post

Pierson v Post is an 1805 decision of the Supreme Court of New York that founded the American law of first possession over wild animals. Post was hunting a fox with hounds across an open, unowned beach when Pierson, aware of the chase, intercepted and killed the fox himself. Post sued in trespass, arguing his pursuit gave him a right to the fox. The court held that mere pursuit of a wild animal does not create possession or ownership; a hunter must actually capture, mortally wound, or otherwise bring the animal under certain control to establish a legal claim to it. The decision remains the standard teaching case on how ownership of previously unowned property is first acquired.