One of society’s oldest activities, hunting has served, throughout time, as an indispensable tool for human survival, not just as a form of defence against wild animals but also supplying us with food, clothing and the raw materials necessary to construct utensils from the bones, horns or hooves of the hunted animals. The abundance of woods and forests in Portugal lend them- selves to hunting and the use of different hunting processes, such as hawking, driven hunts or beating, with the assistance of trained animals such as dogs, horses, falcons or ferrets.
During the 18th century, especially with the Industrial Revolu- tion, the popularisation of the use of shotguns made way for the zealous hunting of species that were harmful to agriculture, causing a negative impact on natural ecosystems, with the indiscriminate capture of wild animals drastically reducing the real numbers of certain species.
Nowadays, however, the protection of nature and game species is an integral part of hunting. If the hunted species are not preserved, they will disappear, and hunting along with them. The aim is to use hunting as a way to create a positive impact on natural ecosystems, only exercised with overpopulated animals and favouring the elimination of weak or sick animals. Maintaining equilibrium in nature and protecting species is no easy task. Hunting legislation is a complicated and delicate subject, given the complexity of the different interests involved. With the evolution of hunting laws and ethics, game reserves and areas for association-based and social hunting were created with the aim of confining hunters to the terrain in which the hunting takes place, also making them protectors of nature and of the species they hunt, becoming experts in flora and fauna, water courses, the climate and geography of each region. As a renewable natural resource, the future of hunting and the maintenance of hunting species is also in the hands of the hunters, who can enhance its sustainability.
Hunting in Portugal is a sport and a business that brings benefits to the country and is an important agent in the protection, equilibrium and development of wild species and the environment. It plays an important role not just as a means of rural development, but also in the sustainability of natural resources, nature conservation, economic development and creation of wealth for the country. It is also intimately linked to gastronomic heritage in Portugal. The hunter is loyal to the principle that what they hunt is for the purpose of nourishment. Although nowadays the hunter doesn’t primarily hunt to feed, what they hunt is nonetheless eaten.
With the second series of stamps dedicated to hunting in Portugal, we end this journey through the nation’s hunting heritage, paying homage to another five hunting species native to our country, which are also subject to regulated hunting in Portugal.
The song thrush*
The song thrush is medium-sized (around 22 centimetres) and brown in colour, becoming orangey-yellow on the underside of the wings and reddish on the breast. Birds that overwinter in Portugal, thrushes arrive in October from Northern Europe, favouring olive groves as a place to settle before returning north between March and April.
They eat invertebrates, especially earthworms, insects and snails, and fruits, with a preference for olives and grapes.
The European rabbit*
The European rabbit lives in colonies, preferring locations with abundant woods on dry and sandy terrain, where it digs warrens formed of chambers, resting in shelters similar to those of the hare. In these, they hide during the day, coming out at night to feed, although occasionally they also emerge during the day. Their defence consists of good lateral vision, sharp hearing, thanks to the constant repositioning of their long ears, and their sense of smell, heightened by the constant movement of the nose. As herbivores, they feed mostly on herbaceous plants, roots, stalks, grains and even the bark of certain trees, and can cause serious damage to orchards and olive groves.
The rabbit is extremely prolific, reproducing easily throughout the year, but with greater intensity between March and May.
The Iberian hare*
The characteristics of this hare are its long ears, black at the tip, and the brownish-yellow colour of the fur. Its very long rear limbs make it a born runner. It runs long distances, almost always in a straight line, at great speed, reaching 60 kilometres/ hour when pursued. It swims, jumps and even climbs.
Unlike the rabbit, which lives in colonies underground, the hare lives on the surface, generally in pairs, although it does occasionally hide in holes.
It has a herbivorous diet, with a preference for shoots of tender herbs, cereals and grapes. It feeds at night and reproduces between January and May. It is much less prolific than the rabbit, in terms of number of litters and offspring.
The wild boar*
A very adaptable animal, the wild boar can survive in almost all climates and habitats, living in thickets and woods, sometimes at the edge of agricultural land, where there is water, particularly in thickets, canebrakes and maize fields. It lives in groups called herds or sounders. Older males live in isolation, or are accompanied by a younger male, the ‘squire’, who alerts him to danger or ventures before him in the most dangerous places. During the day, the wild boar stays in its shelter, or den, in the shade of a tree, in the middle of dense woods or in thickets, from which it emerges at night to eat. It is an omnivore, feeding on almost anything: as well as chrysalises, earthworms and slugs, it also eats reptiles, mice and small rabbits or hares, as well as eggs, tubers, bulbs, roots, fruits and cereals.
The red deer*
A large animal, the red deer belongs to the Cervidae family, along with fallow deer and roe deer.
The adult’s hide is a reddish brown colour in summer, and greyish brown in winter, while the young is brown with whitish- yellow spots splashed across on the back and neck. The males have antlers, formed of bone tissue that renews and grows every year. The female, the doe, does not have antlers and is smaller in size.
Red deer live in thickets, oak groves, deciduous and coniferous woodlands, preferably with open areas. During the night, it travels in search of food, especially tree shoots, fruit (apples, pears, acorns, chestnuts and olives are favourites) and grass; during the day it sleeps under the protection of woods and forests.
