Dove hunting season begins with regulations

AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) on Thursday called on hunters to abide by its regulations, as it announced the opening of dove hunting season.

The hunting season of three kinds of doves starts on Friday and ends on November 30, according to the RSCN, which underlined that only three kinds of doves are allowed to be hunted.

The society sanctioned the hunting of the collared dove, the rock dove and the laughing or palm dove. It also prohibited the hunting of the turtle dove for the second consecutive year, due to a decline in the species' population across the region.

The society indicated that hunting is only allowed in designated areas within the Jordan Valley and that each "registered" hunter is allowed to hunt a maximum of 20 birds per trip, the RSCN said in a statement.

The society banned the hunting of turtle doves in 2016 after the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the turtle dove, a migratory bird widely sought after by hunters, to the vulnerable species category under its Red List of Threatened Species in 2015.

The upgrade was attributed to a rapid decline in the population of turtle doves in much of its European range, with even more severe declines thought to have affected Russia and Central Asia, according to the IUCN Red List website.

The IUCN suggested several conservation actions for the bird species, including the management of its breeding and staging habitats, as well as restrictions on hunting.

Turtle doves usually pass through Jordan in the summer, between July and September. They are mainly spotted in the Jordan Valley and adjacent areas, according to the RSCN.

On its Facebook page, the RSCN urged hunters to abide by its regulations, with the aim of sustaining hunting activities in the country and preserving wild birds and animals.

Under the society's regulations, those who hunt outside the allotted period are fined JD100 and sentenced to one week in prison, while those who kill endangered species, such as falcons, are fined JD2,000 and handed four-month prison terms. In addition, all violators' weapons are seized, according to the RSCN.

The location of hunting activities changes according to the season, with hunters mainly active in the Jordan Valley, mountainous areas and the Eastern Badia, according to the society.

In 1973, the government gave the RSCN, an independent nonprofit NGO, a mandate to regulate hunting and protect the Kingdom’s wildlife.