KINGSTON, Jamaica – The 2023 game bird shooting season is expected to begin on August 19. It will run for five weeks and is set close out on September 24, 2023.

According to a release from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the season’s hunting sessions are from sunrise to 9:00 am and 2:30 pm to sunset on Saturdays, and from sunrise to 9:00 am on Sundays.

NEPA has indicated that only the following game birds are to be hunted during the season:

1. Zenaida Dove/Pea Dove

2. White-winged Dove

3. White-crowned Pigeon/Baldpate

4. Mourning Dove/Long-tailed Pea Dove

The overall bag limit per hunting session is 20 birds and no more than 15 shall be white-crowned Pigeons.

No hunting is allowed within game reserves/sanctuaries, forest reserves or within 50 metres of their boundaries, public roads and or within 50 metres of residential areas.

Anyone who wishes to take part in the 2023 bird shooting season must obtain a hunters licence from NEPA at its head office at 10 Caledonia Avenue in Kingston or at its office in Port Antonio or from any of the authorised vendors located across Jamaica.

The cost for a hunter’s licence is $25,000. All applicants must possess a valid firearm licence/user’s permit for a shotgun and a Tax Registration Number (TRN) to be eligible for purchasing a hunter’s licence.

NEPA also highlighted that hunters who failed to submit the required hunting report for previous seasons will be required to pay a late processing fee of $5,000 before being granted a hunter’s licence for the 2023 hunting season.