Hunting seasons · 2026/2027 · Updated
Hunting seasons in Ireland
The open seasons for every game species in Ireland, species by species and class by class. With Pro, the HunTracker app sends a notification on the day the main seasons open or close.
Big game
| Species | Sex / age class | Open season |
|---|---|---|
| Red deer | Stag132 | – |
| Hind123 | – | |
| Calf123 | – | |
| Japanese sika deer | Stag12 | – |
| Hind12 | – | |
| Calf12 | – | |
| Fallow deer | Buck12 | – |
| Doe12 | – | |
| Calf12 | – | |
| Reeves's muntjac | Both sexes51 | All year |
Small game
| Species | Sex / age class | Open season |
|---|---|---|
| Red grouse | Both sexes7 | – |
| Mallard | Both sexes139 | – |
| Eurasian teal | Both sexes13 | – |
| Gadwall | Both sexes13 | – |
| Eurasian wigeon | Both sexes13 | – |
| Northern shoveler | Both sexes13 | – |
| Tufted duck | Both sexes13 | – |
| European golden plover | Both sexes | – |
| Common snipe | Both sexes13 | – |
| Jack snipe | Both sexes13 | – |
| Ruddy duck | Both sexes1213 | – |
| Canada goose | Both sexes813 | – |
| Greylag goose | Both sexes813 | – |
| Red-legged partridge | Both sexes | – |
| Common pheasant | Cock69 | – |
| Eurasian woodcock | Both sexes10 | – |
| Common wood pigeon | Both sexes | – |
| Mountain hare | Both sexes414 | – |
| European rabbit | Both sexes11 | All year |
Predators and other game
Openings and closings by month
January
- Closes
February
- Closes
March
- Closes
- Fallow deer (Doe, Calf) ·
- Japanese sika deer (Hind, Calf) ·
- Red deer (Hind, Calf) ·
April
- Closes
- Fallow deer (Buck) ·
- Japanese sika deer (Stag) ·
- Red deer (Stag) ·
August
- Opens
- Fallow deer (Buck) ·
- Japanese sika deer (Stag) ·
- Red deer (Stag) ·
September
- Opens
- Closes
October
- Closes
November
- Opens
- Common pheasant (Cock) ·
- Common wood pigeon ·
- Eurasian woodcock ·
- Fallow deer (Doe, Calf) ·
- Japanese sika deer (Hind, Calf) ·
- Red deer (Hind, Calf) ·
- Red-legged partridge ·
Notes
- Deer may be shot with firearms only, and an NPWS deer hunting licence is required.
- The female and antlerless season covers hinds and calves of both sexes. The stag season covers males of any age.
- Red deer are not open in County Kerry.
- Hare may be shot, coursed at regulated coursing matches or hunted with beagle and harrier packs. Closed in the townlands of North East Slob, North West Slob, Big Island, Beggerin Island and The Raven in County Wexford.
- Muntjac may be shot with firearms all year.
- Cock pheasants only; hens may not be shot.
- Red grouse are open in September only.
- Open 1 September to 15 October throughout the State. Canada goose is also open 16 October to 31 January in County Cavan (except Eonish Island, Rinn and Deramfield townlands) and County Leitrim (except the River Shannon); greylag goose in the same period only at Lady's Island, Co. Wexford, and the Gearagh, Co. Cork.
- Hunting is not permitted in the wildfowl sanctuaries, 68 listed areas around the country.
- Protected birds other than ducks and geese, and protected mammals, may not be hunted from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. Woodcock may not be hunted between sunset and sunrise.
- Not a protected species under the Wildlife Act 1976, so no close season applies. Landowner permission and firearms rules still apply.
- Listed in the open seasons order; it is an introduced species.
- Lead gunshot may not be used in or around wetlands.
- The Irish hare, a mountain hare subspecies.
- Source
- National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)
- Legal basis
- Wildlife (Wild Birds) (Open Seasons) Order 1979 (S.I. No. 192 of 1979), First Schedule Part 1 as substituted by the Wildlife (Wild Birds) (Open Seasons) (Amendment) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 421 of 2023, Iris Oifigiúil 29 August 2023); Wildlife (Wild Mammals) (Open Seasons) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 550 of 2005), Schedule as substituted by the Wildlife (Wild Mammals) (Open Seasons) (Amendment) Order 2024 (S.I. No. 66 of 2024, Iris Oifigiúil 1 March 2024), made under the Wildlife Act 1976
- Published
Season information in the app is for guidance only. Always check current legislation and local rules before you hunt.
Every season in your pocket
HunTracker opens on the country you are in, shows what is open today, and keeps every hunt in your journal.