Hunting season in Madeira 2026: what hikers need to know

Autumn in Madeira's hills isn't only about walkers. From early October to just before Christmas it is also hunting season (in Portuguese, época venatória). Many of us who hike here have heard the odd distant shot on an autumn morning without thinking twice. Then on Sunday 18 October a man with a shotgun was reportedly seen on the Ponta de São Lourenço trail, reportedly hunting partridges near tourists. That reminded a lot of people that most visitors have no idea the season exists.

This isn't a scare story. Hunting here is legal, regulated and limited. It still helps to know when and where it happens, so here's what the official rules say and how to walk safely and calmly.

🗝️ Key facts: hunting season 2026/27 on Madeira island

• Season: 5 October to 20 December 2026; dates vary by species (Portaria 417/2026).

• Hours: 8:30 to 17:00 only (Portaria 417/2026, art. 3).

• Days: Portugal's national hunting law sets Thursdays, Sundays and national public holidays for open, unmanaged land (Decreto-Lei 202/2004, art. 89). Madeira's 2026/27 rules don't list days separately.

• No hunting at all in the Paul da Serra refuge area and in 13 named protection areas, including Fanal and Casa do Sardinha at Ponta de São Lourenço (Portaria 417/2026).

• Questions or reports: IFCN, 291 145 590, weekdays 9:00–12:30 and 14:00–17:30. Emergencies: 112.

What happened at São Lourenço

Ponta de São Lourenço is the bare peninsula at Madeira's eastern tip, where PR 8 runs. According to Times of Madeira and Madeira Weekly, both crediting the newspaper JM Madeira, a man with a shotgun was seen on the trail on Sunday 18 October. A witness said he was hunting partridges and had fired where tourists were walking. That is a witness account, and I haven't found any official statement on it. Times of Madeira described the whole area as one where hunting is forbidden. The official 2026/27 rules are narrower: the no-hunting area they name out there is Casa do Sardinha (more on that below).

Hunting isn't new out there. IFCN's management plan for the peninsula records that it was used in the past for hunts by the nobles of the old Machico captaincy, and it still lists hunting among the area's economic uses, alongside tourism and fishing. What's changed is the number of people on the path. The same plan calls the trail one of the most visited on the island.

The 2026/27 season: the official facts

These come from the regional rules for this season (Portaria 417/2026, published on 27 August) and the IFCN notice (edital) that puts them into effect. IFCN (Instituto das Florestas e Conservação da Natureza) is the regional forest and nature agency.

• What can be hunted on Madeira island: rock dove (pombo-da-rocha), red-legged partridge (perdiz-vermelha), wild rabbit (coelho-bravo), woodcock (galinhola) and common snipe (narceja-comum).
• Dates: partridge, and rabbit in forest and uncultivated land, from 5 October to 8 November. Rock dove, and rabbit on farmland, until 20 December. Woodcock and snipe from 15 November to 20 December.
• Hours: on Madeira island, hunting is allowed only between 8:30 and 17:00. Rock dove stops at 16:00. Woodcock and snipe are allowed only on Sundays and public holidays, from 8:30 to 13:00.
• Later in the season it moves to farmland. From 12 November to 20 December, rabbit and rock dove may be hunted only on farmland and within 250 m of it (rabbit from sunrise to sunset, rock dove from sunrise to 16:00).
• Which days: Madeira's 2026/27 rules don't list hunting days. Portugal's national hunting law (Decreto-Lei 202/2004, art. 89) limits hunting on open, unmanaged land to Thursdays, Sundays and national public holidays, and bans it on national election days. In line with that, DN Madeira reported that after the opening on 5 October (itself a public holiday), the next hunting day was Thursday 8 October.
• How many hunters: IFCN had issued about 800 hunting licences by 2 October, according to DN Madeira and Lusa. On the first day, the Forest Police (Corpo de Polícia Florestal) checked 102 hunters and found no offences or accidents. On Madeira island the busiest areas were Quinta Grande (Câmara de Lobos) and Paul da Serra.

Where hunting is not allowed

The rules ban hunting entirely in the marked refuge area at Paul da Serra (the high plateau in the west) and in these protection areas: Fanal, Fonte do Bispo, Pico da Urze, Cova Grande, Montado do Pereiro, Montado do Cidrão, Herdade do Chão da Lagoa, Parque Ecológico do Funchal, the Cabeço da Lenha environmental education centre, Montado dos Piquetes, Montado do Louro, Montado das Rabaças and Casa do Sardinha in Caniçal, the house with a picnic area near the end of PR 8. In the Areeiro refuge, within the Parque Ecológico do Funchal, birds can't be shot. Hunting is also banned in burnt areas and a 250 m strip around them, while a fire lasts and for 90 days afterwards.

Note that only a marked part of Paul da Serra is a refuge. DN Madeira reported plenty of hunters elsewhere on the plateau on opening day. I couldn't find public maps of the refuge and protection areas, so if you're unsure where a boundary runs, ask IFCN.

Several of these protection areas sit on or near popular walks: Fanal is on PR 13, and Casa do Sardinha is at the end of PR 8.

Good-guest tips for walking in hunting season

These are general common-sense tips, not official IFCN guidance.

• Know the likely days. Until 20 December, Thursdays, Sundays and national public holidays are the days to keep in mind, between 8:30 and 17:00. The coming ones are Thursday 29 October, Sunday 1 November, Thursday 5 November and Sunday 8 November, the last day for partridge.
• Stay on the marked path. Classified trails are where people are expected. Cutting across scrub or open hillside is where you're least expected.
• Be easy to see and hear. A bright jacket or pack cover helps, and so does chatting normally. Hunters want to know you're there.
• Keep dogs close and on a lead. Hunters are allowed to work with dogs, and a loose dog running off into the scrub is the last thing anyone needs.
• If you hear shots nearby, don't hide. Call out, make yourself visible and calmly move back the way you came along the path.
• If someone is shooting near a trail or in a protected area, don't confront them. If anyone is in danger, call 112. Otherwise note the place, time and what you saw, and report it to IFCN (291 145 590, weekday office hours according to its website).

A local's take

I don't want to make hunters the villains here. On opening day the Forest Police found no offences at all, and the 18 October incident made the news precisely because it shouldn't happen. Still, our trails are much fuller than they used to be, all year round and on every day of the week, and hunting season and hiking season now overlap completely. A little awareness on both sides, from walkers who know the season exists and hunters who know how many people are out there, keeps everyone safe.

Quick answers

When is hunting season in Madeira? For 2026/27 it runs from 5 October to 20 December on Madeira island, with dates depending on the species (Portaria 417/2026).

Is hunting allowed on hiking trails? The rules don't ban it on trails as such. They ban it in named refuge and protection areas, including Fanal and Casa do Sardinha at Ponta de São Lourenço.

Which days do hunters go out? Under national law, Thursdays, Sundays and national public holidays, between 8:30 and 17:00 on Madeira island.

Is it safe to hike during hunting season? Yes. Stay on the marked path, wear something bright and keep dogs on a lead. On opening day the Forest Police reported no accidents, according to DN Madeira.