Our friend was invited to a hunt by some of his Portuguese friends at the weekend. Here is his report.
Hunting is a huge sport in Portugal and is very strictly regulated by the government and the Police or GNR.
I knew in advance that I wouldn’t be able to even hold a gun let alone fire one without getting into trouble so I was happy to be a spectator and enjoy mixing with local people in their environment. The reason for the hunt was to reduce the number of deer which have been raiding remote farm land and eating or damaging crops.
The day started at 8.30 am when we met the other participants in a fiesta centre between Lousa and Miranda do Corvo. Around one hundred people turned up and were served outside standing up with a large breakfast consisting of boiled pigs head and trotters (called chispe) This is eaten between two half’s of a bread roll acting as a plate and sandwich. There was also grilled belly pork (entrameada), Chorizo sausage and boiled bones ( pork bones with a little meet left on cooked in a flavorful broth, delicious. washed down with orange sumol, water and local wine.
Then the draw was held to decide where each hunter would be positioned during the hunt. This is especially important as some hunters have high powered rifles (carbines) so they are positioned in a way that prevents them shooting fellow hunters at the other side of the hunt. Other hunters use a specially designed for the purpose, bullet that is fired from a 12 bore shotgun.
In each hunters envelope was a reminder of the rules of the hunt, a map of their hunting position and the number of the 4×4 vehicle that would be used to take them up to the top of the mountains. Then there was a briefing by members of the association committee to reinforce the rules and to talk about shooting safety. This was followed by the hunters payer and then were we off hunting.
Before going through the hunt in detail. I should mention how impressed I was with the fact that the GNR Police were checking people licenses to carry a gun and their license to hunt. Both carry big penalties if the hunter is found not to have the correct documents. An ambulance was on standby all day and a team of Vets were there to inspect the dogs and their individual medical cards.
(Note – you can find a great deal of properties for sale in the beautiful region of the hunt at Coimbra Property Shop. Many of these houses are under 70,000eur making them ideal for those wishing to take the plunge and mae the move abroad.)
Next week; how the hunt unfolded.
Tags: deer, hunting in central portugal, javeli, javeli in central portugal, viado, vitela, wild boar
