Ceuta suspends small game hunting due to the massive influx…

The Counselor of Environment, Urban Services, and Housing of Ceuta, Alejandro Ramírez Hurtado, has approved the Closed Season Order for the 2026-2027 hunting season and has suspended sine die the open periods for small game hunting in the city. The decision is published in BOCCE No. 6,656, dated September 29, 2026 (disp. 668, page 3513) and will remain in effect as long as the effects of the irregular and massive entry of migrants on July 30 and 31 persist. The start of the hunting season is conditional upon favorable reports from the competent bodies in citizen security, defense, and civil protection.

The origin: an entry of up to 80,000 people

The decree is based on the events that occurred on July 30 and 31, 2026, when there was an irregular, massive, and uncontrolled entry of migrants, primarily through the Tarajal border crossing and via the breakwater that serves as the boundary with the neighboring country. The Ministry of the Interior initially estimated that 72,000 people entered the city, while other estimates raise the total magnitude of the episode to approximately 80,000.

Given this situation, Royal Decree 681/2026, of August 25, declared a situation of interest for national security in Ceuta (BOE n. 210, of 8.26.2026), effective until December 31, 2026, with the possibility of an extension. While this persists, the State and the City must avoid any risk to health, security, and the environment.

The Hunting Council unanimously endorses the suspension

The Technical Services of OBIMASA, a collaborating entity of the Counselorship of Environment, Urban Services, and Housing, drafted the order. Prior to the session of the Hunting Council, the Ceuta Civil Protection Headquarters and the Base Headquarters of the USBAD “TTE. RUIZ” were consulted regarding the safety of people in the mountains where the hunting grounds are located, and it was considered prudent to suspend the opening of the season.

The Hunting Council, in a session on September 4, 2026, issued a favorable report on the order and unanimously agreed to suspend sine die the start of the open period for small game hunting. None of those present expressed any objection, reservation, or disagreement.

What remains suspended and what remains in effect

The order establishes the open seasons and the game species, but suspends its effectiveness regarding the small game hunting periods. The planned periods, now suspended, were:

From 10/10/2026 to 12/31/2026, both inclusive.
From 10/10/2026 to 01/31/2027, both inclusive.
Only Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, excluding 10/31/2026 and 11/01/2026 (“backpack day”) and 10/25/2026 in barracks A due to the “Integral Sierra Bullones” test.

The small game species listed in the annex are the rabbit, the hare, the Barbary partridge, the pheasant, the woodcock, and the quail, in addition to pigeons (wood pigeon and wild pigeon), thrushes (song thrush, mistle thrush, and redwing), and the spotted starling.

The text maintains other limitations unrelated to the suspension:

Hunting is restricted to the controlled hunting grounds declared by resolution of the Vice-Ministry of Environmental Quality on 1.2.2008 (BOCCE no. 4713, of 15.2.2008) and extended by decree on 09/12/2025.
Hunting is prohibited in the Arroyo del Renegado basin (51 hectares) due to the consequences of the fires on September 8 and 9, 2022.
75% of the permits are reserved for members of the Collaborating Society awarded the hunting management; the remaining 25% remain at the disposal of the Ministry.
Hunting dogs must provide proof of rabies antibody titers, in accordance with the decree of the Minister of Health and Social Services of 22/05/2026 declaring Rabies Outbreak 1/2026.

How the ban will be lifted

The lifting of the suspension requires favorable reports from the competent bodies in citizen security, defense, and civil protection endorsing a substantial improvement in the situation in the city and, especially, in the mountains. If these are issued, a resolution will be passed to lift the suspension and establish new valid periods if necessary.

Against the resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the same body within one month, or a direct challenge may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Court of Ceuta within two months.

The regulation is based on Article 65 of Law 42/2007, of December 13, on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, and on Royal Decree 2493/1996, of December 5, regarding the transfer of functions and services in matters of nature conservation.

Impact for hunters

The suspension renders the small game hunting season in Ceuta, which was set to begin on October 10, practically void, and directly affects local hunters and the Collaborating Society that manages the permits in the controlled hunting grounds. The reopening does not depend on hunting or meteorological criteria, but rather on the evolution of the security situation in the city and its mountains, with no certain date at the moment.

Source: Official Gazette of the City of Ceuta (BOCCE), no. 6,656, of September 29, 2026, General Provisions, page 3513 (official reference: disp. 668).