Turtle doves, once protected across Europe due to their declining numbers, will once again be legally hunted for sport following the EU’s decision to lift a temporary ban.
This move allows the shooting of up to 132,000 birds across Spain, France, and Italy, despite concerns from conservationists who credit the ban, in place since 2021, with a modest but meaningful recovery in the species’ numbers.
Known for their soft cooing and lifelong mating bonds, turtle doves are considered vulnerable to extinction globally due to habitat loss and hunting. In the UK, they are the fastest-declining bird species and are now teetering on the brink of extinction.
Each year, they migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to breed in northern Europe, passing through southern countries like Spain and Italy—where they have historically been targeted by hunters during their journey.
The hunting ban implemented three years ago across France, Spain, and Portugal resulted in a 25% increase in the turtle dove population in western Europe, including the approximately 2,000 individuals in England.
According to BirdLife International, this improvement demonstrates that hunting restrictions can be highly effective in reversing the bird’s decline. Recovery has been observed along the western migration route—including Spain, France, Portugal, and northwest Italy—but not in the central-eastern flyway, which includes countries such as Austria, Greece, and Bulgaria, where bans have been poorly enforced or absent altogether.
Barbara Herrero, the senior nature conservation policy officer at BirdLife Europe, said: “The turtle dove did its part. Left alone, it started to recover. But governments failed to uphold their end of the deal. Instead of fixing weak enforcement and protecting habitats, they’re rushing to lift the ban. This is reckless and shortsighted. We know where this path leads – straight back to the brink. The European Commission should have stood firm and kept the moratorium.”
Despite these gains, European hunting groups have pushed for a return to tradition. They argue that conservation efforts have worked and that hunting can now resume sustainably.
Massimo Buconi, president of the Italian Hunting Federation, described the shooting of turtle doves as a cherished tradition, particularly in the Veneto region where the hunting season is marked with celebrations akin to the start of the football season.
“Of course, we eat the doves,” he added. “Hunting in Italy has always been closely linked to the kitchen.”
In Spain, more than 100,000 turtle doves are now set to be hunted under new EU guidelines. Alejandro Martínez of the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation defended the decision, claiming the species serves important social, cultural, and even culinary roles, and can be hunted sustainably.
Minutes from the meeting held by the commission show that EU officials who approved the policy change argue that the conditions for sustainable hunting have been met.
“Hunting in Spain generates €6.5bn and 200,000 jobs,” he said. “This serves as a driving force for development in rural areas that subsist and prosper thanks to the use of species like the turtle dove.”
These include two consecutive years of population growth, improved survival rates, and reliable enforcement systems. Based on this, the EU will permit the killing of up to 1.5% of the turtle dove population annually—a move that has sparked alarm among conservationists who fear it could undo recent progress.
The minutes read: “There was consensus (with the exception of Estonia and BirdLife) to reopen hunting with the 1.5% quota in the western flyway. Meanwhile, the reaction of the birds’ population to the hunting take will need to be closely monitored in the next years.”
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