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Hunting. Captures. By species. Provinces

Hunting. Captures. By species. Provinces 2021
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Small game
Mallard 727 3,558 1,188 16,077 21,550
Gadwall 0 0 0 1,742 1,742
Northern pintail 0 0 0 1,319 1,319
Northern shoveler 0 0 0 2,584 2,584
Red-crested pochard 0 0 0 1,196 1,196
Eurasian wigeon 0 0 0 624 624
Woodcock 3,987 4,697 2,082 1,105 11,871
Snipe 0 0 0 6,259 6,259
Rock dove 5,062 3,418 18,680 7,486 34,646
Rabbit 17,241 4,568 210,461 67,125 299,395
Common starling 5,712 5,712 18,061 30,207 59,692
Pheasant 7,918 3,932 599 1,098 13,547
Coot 19 7 66 2,961 3,053
Lapwing .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Magpie 4,704 1,537 18,338 7,066 31,645
Yellow-legged gull 36 173 3 119 331
Black-headed gull 22 60 5 232 319
Mistle thrush 703 240 849 3,625 5,417
Fieldfare .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Common quail 1,644 3,207 15,930 591 21,372
Red fox 1,984 1,196 1,710 1,376 6,266
Hare 961 1,433 1,857 754 5,005
Common pochard .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Tufted duck .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Red-legged partridge 18,361 10,644 27,127 20,212 76,344
Grey partridge 8 26 58 0 92
Redwing 3,338 4,690 16,274 19,781 44,083
Song thrush 14,439 35,096 73,890 165,733 289,158
Turtle dove .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Woodpigeon 54,489 30,832 37,741 70,454 193,516
Garganey .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available
Teal 4 77 40 3,824 3,945
Stock dove 1,118 114 415 423 2,070
Big game
Roe deer 2,312 1,938 3,572 950 8,772
Wild goat 77 3 0 9 89
Deer 363 554 1,574 0 2,491
Fallow deer 0 227 1,019 0 1,246
Chamois 46 370 290 0 706
Mouflon 0 374 214 0 588
Wild boar 18,370 19,841 15,713 6,460 60,384
Source: Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda.
Note: Captures during open, special or migratory game bird season in private hunting areas (APC), local hunting areas (ALC), controlled hunting areas (ZCC), national hunting reserves (RNC) and game reserves (RC).
(..) Confidential data, low reliability or not available.

Last update: December 2, 2022.

Methodological note

Definition of concepts

Big game
Large animals, with low annual mortality and high life expectancy. In order to reduce the inevitable competence for growth, these species have a low reproduction rate. The margin for hunting them is lower, as these species do not have a natural capacity to recover their original values prior to each year's hunting season.
Small game
Small animals. Their populations typically have high reproduction rates that also enable them to have high breeding rates. They are some of the species considered to be prey, subjected to predators. Therefore, they can actively respond to severe reductions in number.

Methodological aspects

Hunting is a sport or recreational activity, therefore in order to do it, several aspects must be taken into account, such as the procedures to obtain licences and permits, the places where hunting is permitted, the time of the year it can be done, game species, etc. There is a also a Strategic Plan which aims to define a hunting model that is sustainable within nature and compatible with other territorial activities.

The small all the hunting species of birds and four mammal species: rabbit, European hare, Iberian hare and fox. Due to its abundance and general distribution in all the territory, it is the most common and popular hunting. The number of catches at the end of the season is higher as well, though the regeneration capacity in certain parameters allows the recovery of populations.

In our country, all the big game species belong to the ungulates group, which includes deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus sp), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), wild goat (Capra hispanica), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and mouflon (Ovis musimon). Though a wrong management and insufficient conservation made that many of these species disappear at their natural distribution areas, nowadays are model for habitats recovery and right management done in many years of work.

The captures shown in this table are those carried out in private and local hunting areas, controlled hunting areas and national reserves during the hunting season. The season is approved by means of an annual resolution which establishes which species may be hunted, the stipulated hunting periods and the special closures for each season.