• Environment. Hunters demand the Board to authorize ties to reduce fox population

The hunting season in Andalusia, which mobilizes the 256,000 federated shooters , will take place without delay after the state government's plan to return to the new normal is known . The president of the Andalusian federation, José María Mancheño , pointed out to this newspaper the "satisfaction" with the fact that the planned closure schedule is maintained, and even that President Sánchez explicitly referred to the activity.

The starting gun will be in July , the month in which the roe deer period begins, very limited to Cádiz. By then - if the health crisis does not escalate - so-called scenario 2, since it would start on May 25. Thereafter hunting and sport fishing is permitted. The latter adds 230,000 licenses, the majority (161,000) for fishing from shore.

In the case of hunting, it will be in August, when the rabbit ban is opened , a date of greater social impact, which will still rise in October and November when the period for waterfowl and big game begins, among other species.

Hunters are practically not going to suffer as a result of their activity, only that of the mountain goat , which has almost not been killed, since it was prohibited during the strong months for this capture, March and April. The president of the Federation, José María Mancheño, indicated a few weeks ago that the paralysis of the season on dates of high activity would have been a "total bankruptcy" for the sector, very powerful in many rural regions.

Precisely a few days ago the meeting of the Andalusian Hunting Committee was held, in which the documents of current abundance of gameable species in Andalusia were delivered . They are censuses carried out at the foot of the field by technicians of the Ministry, who have made more than 4,000 kilometers of observation.

In the two most relevant species for small game and ecosystems, no major changes appear. The rabbit - almost unique prey for lynx and imperial eagle - remains at low levels due to viral hemorrhagic pneumonia. The 51 copies per square kilometer are far from the 64 in 2017, but exceed the less than 40 in 2015. The Ministry describes the trend as "slightly upward". Ecologists in Action believes that it is "flat" within "very low" levels. Almería is the province with the highest density, and Huelva the one with the least.

The partridge , with a density of 24 animals per square kilometer, "seems to confirm a change to a slightly upward trend," says the Ministry, after a decade of population loss. Cádiz and Sevilla concentrate these animals, almost non-existent in Malaga and Almería according to the last census.

Major hunt

The density of the big game has been calculated by the Ministry after 2,500 km. The deer has "a certain downward trend", with between 5 and 8 animals per square kilometer, and is concentrated in Sierra Morena, Los Alcornocales and the Sierra de Tejeda-Almijara. Fallow deer "slightly" increases its density in its two best locations: Cazorla and Alcornocales. The same happens with the mouflon. In all three cases the density is considered "low".

The abundance of the wild boar has motivated a hunting alert that allows, with permission, its hunting throughout the year due to the damage caused. The Ministry does not have reliable data on this species as it is "elusive", indicates the analysis document. Ecologists in Action believes that "the alarm is not justified 365 days a year, it does not seem a problem of density, almost half of Andalusia does not even have a trace of a boar," says Juan Cuesta .

He points out the hunting practice as part of the problem, since some hunting farms cross pig with wild boar - the so-called pig - so that the aspect of the wild joins the fecundity of the domestic, "and also without fear of humans" .

Next week the closure order will come out, for a season that, as in so many other sectors, has been in suspense due to a microscopic being.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Andalusia
  • Almeria
  • Seville
  • Huelva
  • Cadiz
  • Environment

Health crisis The Board authorizes the departure of 25 elderly from the residences, with a third of all deaths from Covid-19

Environment Quarantine suits the atmosphere well

CoronavirusThe pressure on Andalusian hospitals continues to drop: the number of patients admitted by Covid-19 drops by 7.2%