The crossfire between the hunters and the residents of Foravila

Palm“Last week, I was having lunch with my family at our country house when a pellet fell on my head,” says Maria (not her real name), a resident of Pina who prefers to remain anonymous. This is the reality for many rural residents who feel the echo of hunters' voices inside their homes and live in fear that a tragedy might occur one day. “My daughter was there. If she gets hurt, what happens?” she asks. Meanwhile, Joan (not his real name), a resident of Campos, explains that 30 years ago, neighbors “didn't hear gunshots from inside their houses” and laments that in recent years, especially during hunting season, he often wakes up at six in the morning with a start because “it sounds like there's a shooting outside the door.”

Maria and Joan denounce the "constant insecurity" experienced by rural residents because "hunters don't respect the minimum distance of 100 meters from a house before shooting, and some even shoot in the direction of the houses," they assert, something that is prohibited by law. Meanwhile, the president of the Balearic Hunting Federation, Marta Lliteres, believes that "whoever breaks the law should pay the price." She affirms that the Federation "cannot conceive of hunting being practiced without respecting safety regulations" and emphasizes that hunters "shouldn't go out to upset anyone." Therefore, she recommends that neighbors who suffer damage caused by a hunter's irregularities speak out and talk to him amicably. "If they're a reasonable person, they'll understand and leave; if not, they should call the agents and inspectors of the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) or the environmental wardens of the Consell de Mallorca, the competent bodies for enforcing the law," he advises. Between 2017 and 2020, the Hunting and River Fishing Service of the island institution issued 186 fines for violating hunting regulations: 16 were very serious, 77 serious, and 94 minor. The data isn't more recent because the Consell de Mallorca hasn't responded to requests from ARA Baleares.

Sources from the Civil Guard have explained to this publication that it's best for residents to call the authorities directly, since "many people have been threatened with gunfire." They acknowledge that the conflict between hunters and residents "has always been there and always will be." Hunters are also aware that "there's always someone who does things wrong," but they assure that they also take action against hunting irregularities to guarantee the safety of their neighbors. "Last year, a neighbor called me and told me that someone was hunting very close to her house because shotgun pellets were falling into her swimming pool. Immediately, a colleague and I went to find the hunter and tell him to move," he explains.

The hunting community denounces that, due to hunters who don't do things properly and also because of the animal protection laws implemented in recent years, "the innocent suffer for the guilty." In their opinion, all of this has created and spread a "bad image" of the sector. In fact, in 2024, the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation (RFEC) launched a campaign to publicize the hate crimes suffered by members of the hunting community. "Aim at the front and shoot" and "I hope you get killed" are some of the attacks and threats shown in the project.

More chalets and less space to hunt

In recent years, the land available for hunting has shrunk because "it's all full of houses," laments Pedro Vanrell, president of the Balearic Association of Hunting Entities. "Where we've hunted all our lives, we can no longer go," he adds. This problem is present throughout the islands, especially in Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, further straining the already tense relationship between residents and hunters, who have never had an excellent rapport. Hunters no longer find empty estates of hundreds of acres as they once did, and even the most secluded spots are now built over. "There was a small piece of land next to ours that had excellent partridges, but I can't go there anymore because they've built houses," laments a hunter from Porreres who prefers to remain anonymous. Landowners who acquire land and don't want hunting on their property create private hunting reserves and only authorize the hunters they choose.

Now, people who don't have the owner's permission to hunt on private land and want to do so must resort to community hunting grounds. These are lands that, "starting in 1975, the town ceded to the town councils and also to hunting societies with the aim of creating a hunting area where all the descendants of the members—who paid and still pay a fee to hunt—could go," explains Vanrell. But he laments that the community hunting grounds have also become too small because the municipal institutions have sold off parts of these lands, and the first thing the buyers have done is enclose them with walls or barriers.

For this reason, the hunting societies are in talks with the town councils to "collaborate in any way they can" and also to guarantee the availability of spaces for hunting, according to a hunter from Santanyí. On the other hand, Vanrell points out that not only has the construction of chalets on rural land reduced hunting space, but also the proliferation of caravans in the countryside as a housing alternative in the face of the Balearic Islands' housing crisis. However, Vanrell believes that the People's Party (PP) and Vox will fulfill their campaign promise to allow hunting on public lands belonging to the Consell de Mallorca and the Balearic Government, something that will benefit the hunting sector. "If they don't back down, I think this will be possible this year," says Vanrell.

It's important to remember that hunting is not permitted everywhere in the Balearic Islands. It is only allowed on undeveloped land within municipalities included in the Balearic Islands' hunting framework plan, in social hunting reserves, and also in private reserves, but always with the owner's authorization. If, upon selling land located within a hunting reserve, the buyer does not remove the property from the reserve or create a private reserve, hunters can continue hunting. However, they must always respect social distancing guidelines.

Living with foreigners

If coexistence between hunters and island residents—who have integrated hunting into their shared identity as an activity practiced throughout their lives in the Balearic Islands—is sometimes difficult, it becomes even more complicated when they are foreigners, especially if they come from territories where hunting is not common and is not well-regarded. "A woman chased me for quite a while because I had two dead partridges hanging from my belt. She kept saying, 'Poor things, don't kill them,' but I'd rather eat one of my own hunted animals than a farm chicken," asserts the hunter from Porrero. To deal with landowners, the hunters of the Islands have an unwritten code. "You greet them, say 'good morning,' and ask permission to go for a walk around their property," says Vanrell, who follows this ritual strictly every time he goes hunting. Thus, the hunters consulted by ARA Baleares assure that "there's rarely any problem" because "they can understand each other by talking." Furthermore, having resolved the differences between the two groups, some residents even ask hunters to come and shoot at their properties to kill animals that are attacking their crops.

The conflict between hunters and residents is not just a matter of differences or occasional annoyances, but rather a reflection of a territory that has changed more than the regulations governing it. The expansion of housing on rural land has reduced the spaces available for hunting, while the proximity of incompatible uses has multiplied tensions. Where there was once silence and distance, traditional activities, new residences, and regulations that are often put to the test on the ground now coexist.

Meanwhile, the Administration navigates between the need to enforce the law, guarantee safety, and preserve an activity deeply rooted in the rural world. But the underlying question goes beyond hunting: what kind of territory do the Balearic Islands want, and how can they guarantee genuine coexistence between those who live there, those who work there, and those who use the land? It's an open debate that, for now, continues to resonate every time a gunshot rings out near a house.