Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 6:27 p.m.
Aïn Sfa (Oujda-Angad prefecture) – The start of the 2024-2025 hunting season in the Oriental region was given on Sunday in a reserve located in the Beni Snassen forest in the commune of Aïn Sfa (Oujda-Angad prefecture), a moment eagerly awaited by some 7,000 hunters in the region.
The kick-off was an opportunity for many hunting enthusiasts to get together and practice their activity, while contributing to the activation of the measures taken by the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) as as partners in the rational exploitation of hunting resources, through the practice of responsible and sustainable hunting in accordance with the laws in force, and with full respect for ecological systems.
The head of the Taourirt-Guercif wildlife unit, reporting to the Regional Directorate of the National Agency for Water and Forests of the Oriental, Ilias Ben Tayaa, highlighted on this occasion the various measures taken by the Agency as part of the “Forests of Morocco 2020-2030” strategy, and its approach to managing hunting areas and promoting wildlife wealth.
According to the annual hunting order for the 2024-2025 season, the maximum number of game animals that a hunter can kill during a single hunting day is set at four partridges, one hare and five rabbits. , he told the press.
He added that the Agency has developed an effective action plan to combat illegal hunting and reprimand offenders, in order to ensure greater protection of game, considered an integral part of the national heritage.
For his part, the president of the Aïn Sfa Hunters Association, Bouazza Bourass, highlighted the need for hunters to respect safety standards, the limits of areas open to hunting and the provisions of the annual order which is part of the laws regulating hunting.
It should be remembered that the services concerned had organized workshops and communication meetings to present the measures taken to ensure the current hunting season takes place in good conditions and fight against poaching.
According to data from the ANEF de l’Oriental, the number of hunting enthusiasts who practiced this sport during the past season, in areas open to the public or in areas leased to hunting associations and organizers of the tourist hunting in the region, reached around 6,000, while the leased areas exceeded 292,471 hectares, spread over 124 lots, of which 120 are dedicated to associative hunting and 04 to tourist hunting.
The same source specifies that the number of partridges released in the leased lots during the 2023-2024 season amounts to nearly 6,400 units, while 310 were released by the regional office of the Royal Moroccan Hunting Federation (FRMC) in reserves where hunting is prohibited, for the purposes of reproduction and repopulation.
The hunting sector plays a significant role in regional development, affecting various related sectors such as the sale of hunting equipment, gunsmiths, transport, hotels, restaurants, as well as production units. of farmed game.
