The spring hunting season for game birds will commence in the Republic of Belarus on March 8th of the current year. From March 15th, hunting for male woodcocks will be permitted.
According to the Hunting Rules, the spring season will last until May 11th, but the total duration of the spring hunting season cannot exceed 28 days.
Specific dates are determined by each hunting grounds user independently, depending on the prevailing natural and climatic conditions (e.g., the start of spring migration, the availability of game in the hunting grounds), by issuing a local normative legal act before the start of the hunting season.
We remind you that rifle hunting for unregulated game species is permitted on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, festive days declared non-working by the President of the Republic of Belarus, and certain working days if they are rescheduled to weekends by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. Additionally, hunting enterprises may establish extra days of the week for hunting during the season (no more than two).
Spring hunting is not as widespread and popular as, for example, summer-autumn "feather" hunting or autumn-winter hunting for fur-bearing game animals. Nevertheless, there are also many enthusiasts of this type of hunting.
Traditionally, during the spring hunting season, hunters are permitted to take:
Migratory geese – White-fronted geese, Bean geese, Greater white-fronted geese, and Canada geese of any sex;
Male ducks (drakes) – Mallard, Eurasian wigeon, Common goldeneye, Northern shoveler, Tufted duck, Common teal, and Garganey, and Grey duck:
Male woodcocks during their display flight ("na tyage").
Incidentally, when hunting geese and male ducks, the taking of Great cormorant, Rock dove, Grey heron, and Great white egret is also permitted.
Furthermore, during any lawful presence in hunting grounds for the purpose of hunting, hunters are also permitted to take wolves, golden jackals, red foxes, raccoon dogs, grey crows, and magpies using methods and hunting gear permitted for hunting the game animals specified in the hunting permit.
Goose hunting is permitted during daylight hours, except between 12:00 and 18:00, using methods – from ambush only from a hide (or using a camouflage cloak) and with mandatory decoys (using a call and a decoy goose, profiles or goose decoys).
Duck drake hunting is also permitted during daylight hours, except between 12:00 and 18:00, using methods – from ambush only from a hide (or using a camouflage cloak) and only with decoys (using a decoy duck or duck decoys and a call). The use of a call only without a decoy or a decoy only without a call is not permitted. During this hunt, only drakes that have flown in or landed (on the water) near the decoy duck or decoys are allowed to be taken.
Woodcock hunting is permitted between 18:00 and 22:00 using the method – from ambush ("on the flight line").
Smoothbore hunting firearms loaded with shot cartridges are permitted as hunting implements. Hunting dogs – terriers, dachshunds, pointers, spaniels, retrievers, water dogs – are permitted for tracking and retrieving downed game.
During the period of prohibition on the use of small vessels by citizens in fishing grounds during the spring hunting season, hunters are permitted to use unpowered small vessels for the placement and/or removal of decoy ducks, decoys, profiles, and for retrieving harvested game.
We remind you that during the spring hunting season, only game bird species specified in the hunting permit may be harvested. The harvesting of other bird species, or of female ducks and woodcocks, is prohibited and constitutes illegal hunting, which entails administrative (Part 1 of Article 16.27 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences) or criminal (Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) liability, as well as the obligation for the violator of environmental legislation to compensate for the damage caused to the environment as a result of the illegal taking of the animal.
We also remind you about the prohibition of carrying and/or using non-regulated types of hunting firearms with rifled barrels, hunting bows and crossbows, as well as cartridges loaded with bullets or buckshot in hunting grounds during hunting for game animals.
We draw the special attention of hunters to the need for strict compliance with the safety requirements of hunting during the hunting process, as set out in Chapter 6 of the Hunting Rules. Practice shows that failure to comply with these requirements is the main cause of accidents during hunting, including those resulting in fatalities. In addition, violation of hunting safety rules entails administrative liability (parts 5 and 6 of Article 16.27 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences) in the form of a fine of up to 15 base units, and in case of repeated violation within a year – from 10 to 30 base units or deprivation of the right to hunt.
