The Higher Council for Hunting Holds Its Regular Session: Towards Sustainable and Modernized Management of the Sector
Rabat, July 24, 2025
The Superior Council of Hunting held its ordinary session on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Rabat, under the presidency of Mr. Ahmed El Bouari, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Abdelrahim Houmi, Director General of the National Agency for Water and Forests, and Mr. Ahmed El Moussaoui, President of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Hunting.
This session was marked by the presentation of an encouraging assessment of the past hunting season, the consolidation of the hunting rights leasing policy, and the adoption of new regulatory measures aimed at establishing sustainable, modern hunting practices that benefit local development.
Despite a rainfall deficit and significant precipitation variability, indicators suggest effective management of natural resources. Over 66,000 hunters, both Moroccan and foreign, participated in hunting activities across open or leased zones, including 5,700 in areas dedicated to tourism hunting. The total area covered reached 4.19 million hectares, divided among 1,639 hunting territories, 1,357 of which were for associative hunting and 211 for tourism hunting.
The National Agency for Water and Forests continues to support the hunting rights leasing policy, which is essential for the preservation and development of wildlife. In this context, more than 151,000 partridges have been released from breeding stations, contributing to the sustainable management of game species.
Additionally, the national strategy for regulating wild boar populations has facilitated over 1,500 hunts, resulting in the culling of 6,344 wild boars, aimed at minimizing agricultural damage and ensuring population safety.
In a move toward modernization, the Agency is progressively introducing innovative digital tools, including the "AmodiaChasse" system for managing hunting leases, as well as the "Massid" platform, which is currently in the final stages of development, intended to simplify and centralize all hunting-related services in Morocco.
The Council also emphasized the crucial role of tourism hunting as a powerful lever for rural economies. Currently, 124 tourism hunting enterprises operate across various regions of the Kingdom, creating local jobs and invigorating related sectors such as accommodation, dining, handicrafts, and game breeding. The annual turnover of the sector exceeds one billion dirhams, with a significant portion being reinvested into the development and maintenance of hunting territories.
In closing the meeting, the Superior Council of Hunting approved the regulatory measures for the upcoming season, which will commence on October 5, 2025, for most species, and on July 25, 2026, for turtle doves, while maintaining existing quotas and conditions to ensure resource sustainability and respect biological cycles.
Through these achievements, the National Agency for Water and Forests, in collaboration with various stakeholders in the sector, reaffirms its commitment to making hunting a model of sustainable management of natural resources and a driver of responsible local development.
