Driven hunts open in Andalusia Saturday: look after the hounds

Big-game season opens in Andalusia, southern Spain, this Saturday, 17 October. And just as the first driven hunts get under way, the Spanish Hound Pack Association (AER) has reminded hunters of something the stands tend to forget: getting every dog home is not only the handler’s job.

What opens on Saturday in Andalusia

A montería is a Spanish driven hunt: hunters wait at fixed stands while packs of hounds, the rehalas, push deer and wild boar through a large block of scrub. Each pack has a handler, the rehalero, and a captain runs the day on the ground.

Under the resolution the regional government published in its official gazette on 8 June, the open season for red deer, fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar runs from 17 October to 14 February. Spanish ibex opens the same day.

Extremadura opened on 10 October and Castilla-La Mancha on the 8th. And October is still hot in Spain: according to the hunting magazine Jara y Sedal, the first hunts of 2025 left tired dogs and handlers releasing fewer hounds.

The AER’s reminder: water, care and respect

On 10 October, with the first hunts running, the AER circulated a reminder reported by the hunting outlet Cazaflix. Looking after the dogs, it says, is everyone’s job, from planning the hunt until the last dog is home: organisers, hunters at the stands and handlers. It comes down to three words: water, care and respect.

• Water. Water points in the hunting blocks, set up by organisers and captains, especially while temperatures stay high. Handlers carry water and watch their dogs all day.
• Care at the bay. When hounds hold a boar at bay, the rules must be clear before the hunt starts. Nobody shoots among the dogs, scares them or forces them to let go. In October 2025 the AER and three other associations already warned that a dog scared that way picks up a fear that is very hard to train out.
• Report to the captain. Any incident goes straight to the capitán de montería, whether a hunter or a handler saw it.

What you can do this Saturday

• If you are at a stand: carry extra water, also for hounds that pass your line. If dogs hold a boar nearby, stay still and quiet and let the handler deal with it. Anything odd, tell the captain.
• If you organise: say the rules for the bay out loud at the morning briefing, point out where the water is in each block and make clear who to call.
• If you run a pack: check the forecast the day before, release fewer dogs if it is hot and rotate in fresh ones.
• At the end of the day: count the dogs with the handler before you leave. A missing dog is far easier to find in daylight.

What Montered does

Montered is building a collar for hunting dogs that shows where each dog is even with no mobile signal: it uses its own radio. The whole party sees every dog on their phones, and organisers can see stands and dogs on one map. No fees, ever. It is in field testing this season: join the waitlist to try it.

Frequently asked questions

When does big-game season open in Andalusia this year? On 17 October 2026 for red deer, fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar, until 14 February 2027, under the resolution published in the regional gazette.

What should I do if a hound turns up at my stand? Do not chase it off. Tell the captain or the handler, give it water and wait for someone to collect it. If a dog is still missing at the end of the day, our guide on how to track your dog with no mobile signal has the steps.