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Luxembourg

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Permits

Three licence categories, a prior certificate of aptitude

Annual licence, three-day guest licence and service licence; a first annual licence requires the hunting certificate of aptitude.

Article 61 of the Act of 25 May 2011 distinguishes three categories of hunting licence: the annual licence, the three-day guest licence and the service licence. Article 62 states that every licence is strictly personal, that the annual and service licences run for one hunting year and that the guest licence covers three consecutive days. Article 63 makes issue of the annual licence conditional on producing a recent criminal-record extract, an insurance certificate complying with Article 66, and a receipt for the fees paid; for a first annual licence a valid hunting certificate of aptitude is added. That certificate is obtained, under Article 59, after passing the aptitude examination, open from the age of seventeen and subject to a registration fee of between 50 and 150 euros. Article 60 allows the minister to treat a foreign certificate as equivalent where the tests are similar and the issuing country recognises the Luxembourg certificate. The annual licence is valid throughout the country.

Seasons

A hunting year from 1 April to 31 March

A grand-ducal regulation sets opening and closing by species, type, sex and hunting method, published at least eight days in advance.

Article 9 of the Act of 25 May 2011 sets the time frame: «L'année cynégétique commence le 1er avril et se termine le 31 mars de l'année suivante» — the hunting year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The dates themselves are not in the Act: a grand-ducal regulation determines, for a given period and for all or part of the territory, the opening and closing dates by species, type or sex of huntable game and by each method and procedure of hunting — as well as the safety measures to be observed by hunters and third parties. The same article guarantees publicity: the regulation setting opening and closing is published in the Mémorial at least eight days before the period begins. During the open period no one may hunt without carrying a valid licence. Hunters must therefore check the regulation in force for the current season rather than rely on last year's dates.

Species

Game defined by an annex to the Act

Game means the species listed in the annex to the Act, which forms an integral part of it and can be amended by regulation.

Article 8 of the Act of 25 May 2011 defines game by reference: «Sont classées gibier, les espèces appartenant à la faune sauvage énumérées à l'annexe de la présente loi qui en fait partie intégrante» — game means the wild species listed in the annex, which forms an integral part of the Act. That annex may be amended by grand-ducal regulation, allowing the list to be adjusted without revising the Act. The same article treats as game the animals born of crosses between species classed as game and domestic species, provided they live in the wild. Being in the annex does not mean being permanently huntable: Article 9 leaves it to the grand-ducal regulation to set, species by species and sometimes by type or sex, the opening and closing dates. The practical question therefore comes in two steps: is the species classed as game, and is its season open for the current year and the intended method of hunting.

Weapons and ammunition

Shotguns and rifles only, bullet shot required on large game

Every other means is prohibited, including trapping and birds of prey; bullet shot is mandatory for red, roe, wild boar, mouflon and fallow deer.

Article 10 of the Act of 25 May 2011 restricts the means strictly: «La chasse n'est autorisée qu'au moyen de fusils et de carabines. Tous les autres moyens de chasse, y compris le recours au piégeage et aux rapaces, sont interdits» — hunting is permitted only with shotguns and rifles, every other means including trapping and birds of prey being prohibited. The same article requires bullet shot for hunting red deer, roe deer, wild boar, mouflon and fallow deer, and specifies the means by method: for stalking and high-seat hunting only bullet shot from a rifled barrel is allowed; for driven hunts bullet shot from a smoothbore is also permitted. A grand-ducal regulation sets the conditions of use. Article 20 draws the downstream consequence: the ban on transporting, marketing, selling or buying applies at all times to game taken with prohibited devices.

Safety

Daylight hunting only, safety measures set by regulation

Hunting is allowed only from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset; safety measures are set by grand-ducal regulation.

Article 10 of the Act of 25 May 2011 sets a clear time limit: «La chasse n'est autorisée que pendant le jour. Est considérée comme jour, la période comprise entre une heure avant le lever officiel et une heure après le coucher officiel du soleil» — hunting is permitted only in daylight, defined as from one hour before official sunrise to one hour after official sunset. This window frames every hunting method, whatever the game. The safety rules themselves are not in the Act: Article 9 entrusts the same grand-ducal regulation that sets opening and closing with determining «les mesures de sécurité à respecter par les chasseurs et les tiers» — the safety measures to be observed by hunters and third parties. A dedicated grand-ducal regulation, last amended on 1 December 2017, spells those measures out. Hunters — and walkers — must therefore consult it, all the more as these rules expressly concern third parties present on the hunting ground too.

Regulations

A hunting right accessory to ownership, exercised through leased lots

The Act of 25 May 2011 ties the hunting right to undeveloped land; it is exercised through leased hunting lots.

Hunting in Luxembourg is governed by the Act of 25 May 2011 on hunting. Its Article 3 sets the principle: «Le droit de chasse est un accessoire indissociable du droit de propriété portant sur un fonds non bâti, rural ou forestier» — the hunting right is an inseparable accessory of ownership of undeveloped rural or forest land. Article 2 assigns hunting a purpose of general interest and sustainable development: contributing to the survival of wild fauna and flora and their habitats, securing forestry and farming activities, enabling close-to-nature forest management and preventing game damage. In practice the territory is divided into hunting lots whose right is leased: Article 34 reserves tenant status — by public auction or extension of the lease — to natural persons holding a valid Luxembourg annual hunting licence and providing security for the rent. A grand-ducal regulation lays down the model specifications for these leases.