Cabó introduces mushroom ordinance with fines of up to 1,500 euros

The Cabó City Council published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette of the Province of Lleida the municipal ordinance regulating the search and collection of mushrooms within the municipal district. The text arrives definitively approved after the Plenary of August 20, 2026, initially approved it and the public exhibition period closed without any claims. The regulation sets the season from August 1 to December 31, requires non-residents to obtain municipal authorization, and provides for fines between 300 and 1,500 euros.

The publication occupies five pages of the provincial gazette, with the official reference BOP-2026_0_210_9063, and was signed by the mayor, Xavier Bullich Coll, on October 28, 2026. The initial announcement had appeared in the BOP of Lleida no. 174, of September 10, 2026, and once the public exhibition closed, the agreement became definitive. The regulation is framed within article 236 of Legislative Decree 2/2003, articles 3 and 55 of Decree 179/1995, and articles 546.1 to 546.4 of the Catalan Civil Code, and takes as references Law 43/2003 on Forests, the Catalan Forestry Law 6/1988, and Law 12/1985 on natural spaces. An administrative contentious appeal may be filed against the approval within two months from the day following publication.

A season from August 1 to December 31

The ordinance applies to the forests and estates on rural land of five forests in the municipality:

• the Bosc de l’Oliva
• the Bosc d’El Pujal
• the Bosc d’El Vilar
• the Obaga de Finestres
• the Bosc de Cabó

Collection can only be done between August 1 and December 31 and is prohibited during the night. To pick the specimens, only a knife or similar tool with a blade of up to eleven centimeters must be used, cutting adult specimens at the base of the stem and leaving the mycelium in its place of origin. It is also prohibited to disturb the ground or use instruments that alter the surface vegetation layer. The preamble justifies the regulation due to the growing pressure on the environment, encouraged by vehicle access to areas that were previously only reachable on foot.

Residents and owners, without authorization

The City Council grants collection authorizations at two speeds. Residents of the municipality and owners or tenants of a rural or urban estate in Cabó may collect freely, complying with the other conditions. Other persons require an authorization issued by the council, which is associated with a card and a ticket book that surveillance can cross-reference with the municipal registry. Owners of private estates may expressly prohibit collection on their lands or delegate the management to the City Council.

Closed access and sanctioning regime

The roads leading to the forests will be closed to motor vehicles from the points marked with “no entry” signs, except for residents and authorized persons:

• C1: at the forest track of the Collmarí road
• C2 to C8: along the Camí del Carro d’Organyà in Cabó
• C9 to C11: along the Camí d’Escales

The City Council may install other signs or barriers. Surveillance will be carried out by the council, alone or in coordination with the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food and the Alt Urgell County Council, with personnel who will be considered agents of authority. Non-compliance is classified as a serious administrative offense and is punished with a fine of 300 to 1,500 euros, graded according to the damages, intent, or recidivism, in addition to the withdrawal of the authorization and the prohibition of requesting it in subsequent seasons. The mayor initiates the procedure and the Plenary imposes the sanction, with the supplementary application of Law 39/2015.

Entry into force occurs the day after publication, according to article 9 of the definitive text, such that the regulation is applicable from November 4, 2026. For Alt Urgell, the decision makes Cabó one of the municipalities that formalize, via regulatory means, a traditional activity that attracts mushroom hunters, owners, and visitors, and does so in the middle of the harvesting season.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Lleida, no. 210, November 3, 2026, Local Administration - City Councils, pp. 1-5 (official reference: BOP-2026_0_210_9063).