Andalusia’s Sustainability and Environment Minister, Fina Martínez, held her first meeting with José María Mancheño, president of the Andalusian Hunting Federation (FAC), and the federation’s leadership team. The meeting served as an initial introduction to the new minister and an opportunity to continue established cooperation aimed at developing sustainable hunting compatible with biodiversity protection and ecosystem balance.
The ministry was represented by Deputy Minister María López; Juan Ramón Pérez Valenzuela, director general for forestry policy and biodiversity; and Juan Ortegón, director of the Andalusian Institute for Hunting and Inland Fisheries. FAC attendees included Vice President and Granada provincial delegate Adelardo Villafranca; Secretary General Jorge Pérez; technical service coordinator José Antonio López; legal service coordinator Francisco Pérez; Seville delegate Fernando Gutiérrez; Jaén delegate Juan Antonio Herrera; Córdoba delegate José Manuel Labrador; Andalusian representative for silvestrismo, Prudencio Lozano; treasurer Antonio Maguillo; Hunting School director María Nuevo; and presidential affairs and communications coordinator Pablo Sorzano. The source also lists a Málaga provincial delegate but does not provide a name.
Martínez highlighted the longstanding relationship between the ministry and FAC, describing it as based on dialogue, joint work and information-sharing to address the sector’s needs while taking account of rural communities and Andalusia’s natural heritage. She called the federation an important interlocutor for understanding hunting, which she said is closely connected to the region, and said the ministry wanted to maintain a constructive relationship grounded in technical expertise, dialogue and shared responsibility.
More than 80% of Andalusia’s territory is classified as hunting land. The region has around 7,500 hunting estates and nearly 160,000 people with valid hunting licences, the minister said. She noted hunting’s role in some rural municipalities and listed businesses and workers connected to it, including estate owners, gamekeepers, hunting-pack handlers, managers, veterinary professionals and accommodation, restaurant and retail businesses. She said orderly development of the activity contributes to economic activity and employment in areas facing depopulation.
Martínez also said hunters’ knowledge of the land and their involvement in habitat care, wildlife observation and the early identification of possible imbalances can provide useful information about wildlife populations and environmental or health incidents.
The meeting reviewed implementation of the Andalusian Hunting Pact, which is nearly 80% complete. The work includes adapting hunting to new needs, reducing administrative difficulties, improving technical knowledge and promoting responsible practices compatible with conservation. The cooperation also includes the 2023–2033 Andalusian Hunting Plan, the regional government’s roadmap for the sector, and an order on predator control that has been approved. The government said it would soon launch CAPTURE, a tool intended to digitise hunting activities and facilitate dealings between hunters and hunting-estate owners and the administration.
The ministry and FAC will also continue working to encourage generational renewal and introduce young people to hunting through training, responsibility and knowledge of the natural environment.