Hunting calendars for 2023/2024 season published - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Agricultura e do Desenvolvimento Rural

The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development, through the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources, published today the hunting calendars for the 2023/2024 season for each island of the Azores, except Corvo, in the Official Journal.  

These calendars are the result of consultation with organisations representing hunters, agricultural and forestry producers as well as environmental protection organisations.

In each calendar, the hunting conditions for each game species are defined, namely the hunting methods, times, dates and, sometimes, the areas where hunting is allowed as well as the number of pieces that each hunter can kill during a day of activity.

Hunting calendars are also an essential tool for the sustainable management of game resources - the rules are established for the release of hunting dogs outside the hunting period.

The hunting calendars established for each island are based on information collected on the variation in abundance of game species populations, through regular censuses and game abundance indicators; information on the demographic structure of these populations; the results of opinion surveys conducted among hunters and on the variation in the number of applications for density corrections.

The hunting calendar begins on July 1 and ends in January 2024, varying according to species.

"We are, thus, establishing a sustained strategy for hunting in the Azores, so as to guarantee the existence of game species in the present and in the years to come. Hunting in the Azores is a tourist attraction and animal diversity factor, which should be monitored for its preservation," defended the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, António Ventura.