Castilla y León authorizes thermal viewers for hunting ungulates and preventing accidents

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Environment, and Environmental Policy of the Junta de Castilla y León has authorized the transport, possession, and use of thermal and image viewers for the hunting of ungulates. The measure is detailed in Order AGR/962/2026, dated September 25, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) number 189, dated September 29, 2026, and comes into effect the day following its publication.

An exception supported by hunting law

The text is based on Article 32.3 of Law 4/2021, of July 1, on Hunting and Sustainable Management of Game Resources of Castilla y León, which allows for the authorization of prohibited devices when their selective and non-mass nature has been verified. Article 34 of the same regulation bans artificial light sources, mirrors, and viewers with electronic image converters or amplifiers for night shooting, including thermal ones.

The order maintains that the experience accumulated in other autonomous communities and in the exceptional cases already authorized in Castilla y León confirms that these devices enable the selective identification and location of certain game species, without constituting mass or non-selective capture methods.

Species, modalities, and schedules

• Hunting of wild boar, red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, and mouflon, in the modalities of stalking and ambush or waiting, between one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset: the viewer is permitted provided it is not attached to or mounted on the weapon.
• Hunting of wild boar in ambush or waiting outside of those hours: the device is permitted, whether attached to the weapon or not.
• It is prohibited for small game hunting, regardless of species or modality, for ibex and chamois, and in driven hunts (montería), gancho, jumping, or hand-hunting.

Requirements and control of the game holder

The hunter will require a nominative authorization issued by the game holder or their legal representative, according to the model available on the Junta de Castilla y León website, Hunting section. They may not fire based exclusively on the thermal signal or the image from the device: they must first identify the game species and verify its compliance with the authorization, in accordance with Article 50.a) 4.º of Law 4/2021.

Outside of the authorized cases and schedules, the devices must remain turned off and be transported inside their cases; in motor vehicles, they must be kept out of the immediate reach of the driver and passengers. Non-compliance may constitute an administrative offense according to Articles 84.17 and 85.19 of Law 4/2021.

Accidents, agricultural damage, and public health

The order justifies the measure based on the significant increase in traffic accidents and the observed trend in claims for damages caused by game ungulates to agricultural and livestock farms. It adds the preventive context of One Health, whose recommendations aim to reduce health risks derived from the interaction between game ungulates, domestic livestock, and humans.

The text was reported by the Hunting Commission of the Regional Environmental Council of Castilla y León, in its session on September 23, 2026, and is signed by the counselor Joaquín Antonio Pino. The order empowers the General Directorate of Hunting, Fishing, and the Rural Environment to issue the implementing provisions, and it may be challenged by an optional appeal for reversal within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León within two months.

The authorization directly affects hunters, owners of enclosed hunting grounds, farmers, and livestock breeders in the Community, who from September 30 have a regulated framework to use technology previously prohibited in big game hunting. The balance between hunting efficiency and species protection now rests with the nominative authorizations and the controls provided by the Department.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 189, September 29, 2026, I. Community of Castilla y León, D. Other provisions, pp. 115-118 (official reference: BOCYL-D-29092026-189-13).