Since 2021, a moratorium is in place in the 4 Member States in the Western flyway of the Turtle Dove (France, Spain, Portugal, and the northern part of Italy), while strong harvest reductions took place in the Central/Eastern flyway Member States (Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria).

So far, preliminary harvest reports from countries in the Central/Eastern flyway show that the efforts to reduce harvest continued in 2024, with a 90% decrease compared to the baseline 2013-18.

*Note that harvest estimates are not yet available from Austria and Cyprus, so that 2023 values have been used in this graph.

Last year, in 2023, the population modelling work conducted by the European Commission showed that reducing the harvest to 33% of the harvest baseline (2013-18) in the Central/Eastern flyway would lead to population stability. The current available data for 2024 shows the harvest has been reduced to around 10% of the harvest baseline.

Source: March 2023 Technical update: Turtle Dove population data and trends, abundance estimates and management scenarios (central-eastern flyway).

Given the lack of new data in the Central/Eastern flyway, this population model was not updated in 2024.

However, an updated projection of population trends was produced for the Western flyway in spring 2024, which showed that harvest rates up to 4% of the post-breeding population would allow the population to increase. This should be regarded as a precautionary level as recent work by the European Commission on comparing the trend projection model with the actual past observed trend revealed that the model could significantly overestimate the impact of hunting.

With the latest estimate of 560,000 breeding pairs, the current available data for 2024 shows the harvest in the Central/Eastern flyway would correspond to a harvest rate of around 4%.

Source: Turtle Dove Adaptive Harvest Management mechanism, March 2024 Technical update (western flyway).

The current low harvest rate in the Central/Eastern flyway is very unlikely to have any significant impact on the population.

While this very low harvest happens, hunters in these EU countries spend significant efforts in habitat improvement for the Turtle Dove and biodiversity (e.g., Greece). As loss of habitat is the main driver of population and biodiversity decrease in the EU and beyond, targeted actions implemented by hunters on the ground such as hedge plantations, provision of water in dry habitats, creation of seed rich plots or seed crops left unharvested, and much more, are crucial for the improving the habitat for wildlife.

Hunting is much more than just off-take, it is a year-round activity providing significant benefits to habitats and wildlife. Hunters have always been leaders in the conservation and improvement of quality habitats, enhancing biodiversity in the EU.