Wild rabbit hunting once again authorised on eight islands with hunting activity, announces António Ventura - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e Alimentação

The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food praised today, in Angra do Heroísmo, the contribution and participation of all the entities involved in defining the hunting calendars for the season that is now beginning. He highlighted the authorisation of wild rabbit hunting on the eight islands with hunting activity, which had not happened for more than ten years.

António Ventura spoke on the sidelines of a meeting with the board of the Terceira Hunters' Association about the hunting calendars for the 2024/2025 season for each island, which are already available for consultation in the Official Journal.

"In the hunting season that is now beginning, with greater or lesser hunting pressure, we highlight the permission to hunt wild rabbits on the eight islands with hunting activity, which had not happened for more than ten years, albeit in a different abundance situation than in the pre RHDV2 period (2014/2015)," he stressed. 

According to the government official, the establishment of the hunting calendars was based on proposals from the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources and Spatial Planning (DRRFOT). They were "based on the results of the monitoring of different game species and other work carried out throughout the year by the forestry services as part of the management of regional game resources."

"These proposals were presented and discussed with various stakeholders on each island, namely hunting organisations, farmers, forestry producers and environmental protection organisations. They are the result of the consensus achieved among the interests of various entities, ensuring sustainable game management, the respect for the principles of nature conservation and ecological balance in harmony with other forms of land use," he continued.

António Ventura added that each hunting calendar is "adjusted to the reality and current interests of the respective island, and is subject to change at any time if new developments require so."

"Interested parties can consult the respective documents for information on the periods, processes, locations and daily culling limit approved for each game species," he added.

In turn, the Regional Secretary explained that "the decline in the number of common snipe nesting on São Miguel and Faial has led to a ban on snipe hunting on these islands." 

As for the other game species, the population situation did not require any major changes to restrictions on their hunting.