Portugal reopens turtle dove hunting for two mornings in August

The ICNF has authorised hunting of the European turtle dove in Portugal on 23 and 30 August, from sunrise to 11am, with a cap of 15,000 birds. The species, classified as Near Threatened since 2022, saw its population collapse to historic lows in 2021 before recovering from 2023 onwards. EU authorities set a total quota of 150,000 birds across Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, based on spring 2025 monitoring data. Each dove killed must be tagged with a tamper-proof ring. Environmental groups had previously voiced concerns over the lack of a credible national control system for the species.