Mallorca dove hunting opens with 2,040-bird quota

The Consell de Mallorca will open the dove hunting season on Mallorca, Spain, on Sunday 23 August, setting a maximum of 2,040 turtle doves. Hunting will be permitted on four dates: 23, 27 and 30 August, and 3 September.

The limit is higher for a second consecutive year following the European Commission’s decision to lift its moratorium on the species.

Reporting requirement for turtle doves

Hunters must log every turtle dove taken through an application within 15 minutes. The season will end as soon as the report is filed for the final bird available under the island-wide limit.

Pedro Bestard, the Consell de Mallorca councillor for Environment, Rural Affairs and Sport, opposed the monitoring system, saying it had been required under European rules and had necessitated the creation of the app.

Rules for other game species

Wood pigeons, hares and quail may also be hunted from Sunday. Hare hunting is restricted to the use of greyhounds or falconry, with a limit of two hares per hunter per day.

Shotgun hunting of hares is allowed on 16 and 23 August, with a maximum of one hare per hunter each day. Feral pigeons (Columba livia) may be taken from 2 September, while quail hunting is authorised until 4 October.

The start of the wood pigeon season coincides with a temporary hunting emergency declared by the Consell de Mallorca for the third successive year. Wood pigeons and feral pigeons may be hunted in preserves during the special period from 2 to 30 August.

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com