Wild Hunting Season in the Kingdom

The Wild Hunting Season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the season designated by the Kingdom's National Center for Wildlife (NCW) for allowing the practice of hunting wild animals. Its purpose is to regulate hunting and preserve biodiversity and environmental balance in the Kingdom. Sustainable wild hunting is limited to species permitted for hunting and declared via the 'Fitri' platform.

The NCW issued executive regulations for hunting wild animals, allowing individuals wishing to hunt and those holding hunting rifles licensed by the competent entities, or falconers registered with the Saudi Falcons Club, to obtain hunting permits through the Fitri platform.

The NCW specifies species of wildlife whose hunting is prohibited or permitted, determines hunting quantities for each species, and designates sites where hunting is allowed in the Kingdom. Additionally, it specifies the permitted or prohibited hunting tools and equipment, suggests a detailed list of violations of the law and the executive regulations along with the related penalties for every violation, and submits it to the ministry. It also implements international and regional conventions on wildlife animal species and hunting, ratified by the Kingdom.

It works to set and approve requirements and controls related to licensing mechanisms for hunting and hunting reserves and collecting the relevant financial dues. It issues and renews licenses for hunting and hunting reserves, issues and publishes national reports on hunting, and identifies mechanisms and procedures for inspection, control, and reporting of violations to the law and executive regulations. It establishes and manages shelters for seized wildlife species, and coordinates with the Ministry of Interior with regard to licensing firearms for hunting.

The center coordinates with the Ministry of the Interior with regard to enforcing the hunting regulations, controlling relevant violations, and coordinating with the Ministry of Health regarding public safety conditions while hunting. It also coordinates with the Deputy Ministry of Animal Resources to regulate hunting in cases of epidemic disease outbreaks, and with the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification to regulate hunting within the lands of vegetation cover. Moreover, it offers environmental guidance activities related to hunting, including holding courses, seminars, specialized work sessions, and media campaigns.

Wild hunting is permitted in sites determined and periodically announced by the center. The hunting of wildlife animal species is prohibited in the following places: Within the boundaries of the Two Holy Mosques, within the boundaries of cities and villages, within the boundaries of heritage sites, within the boundaries of wetlands and a radius of two km from them, within the boundaries of all declared protected areas except under a license issued based on special requirements and controls by the NCW, and within the boundaries of vegetation cover lands except under a license.

Hunting is also prohibited within the land border area specified in accordance with the Border Security Law and its executive regulations, on main and side roads and within a distance of two km from them, beach premises, the shoreline of all the coasts of the Kingdom and at a width of twenty km from them, and any other sites determined by the NCW. It is also prohibited to use or lease farms, rest houses, and private property for hunting. The sites where hunting is allowed must be at least two km away from residential areas, mosques, and public and private facilities.

It is prohibited to hunt in the Kingdom using tools and equipment that enable hunting more than one species at a time, like nets and the like. It is also prohibited to hunt using all kinds of unlicensed firearms, as well as using tools that attract wildlife, such as call devices and recorders that reproduce sounds of birds and animals, etc. It is prohibited to use chemicals, narcotic drugs, poisons, gas, smoke, and electric devices in hunting. It is prohibited to use hunting tools and equipment aboard all kinds of moving vehicles and use any vehicle to chase wildlife animal species.

Hunting is permitted with weapons licensed by the relevant entities and allowed for hunting by the NCW, or with other means it determines. If necessary, the center issues decisions that include updated lists of permitted and prohibited hunting tools and equipment. The center may, after coordination with the Ministry of Interior and relevant entities, prohibit the sale, display, promotion, trade, or acquisition of any firearms, air weapons, or shotguns prohibited for use for the purpose of hunting within the Kingdom.

The executive regulations permanently prohibit the hunting of wildlife, the hunting of endangered animals and birds, and predatory birds. Moreover, hunting should only be done with air weapons licensed in the name of its user. It also prohibits the use of any other means that lead to hunting more than one animal or bird, whether with spray guns like shotguns or falling nets, or hunting by unauthorized methods, such as: using gases, car exhaust, flooding with water, or using means of attraction and call devices, and others.