Openings and closings by month

Notes

1. Cocks may be shot from 15 October to 31 January, hens only from 15 October to 31 December.
2. Hunting only between sunrise and sunset, never on Sundays or public holidays (New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Christmas), and not on snow-covered ground except for mallard and wood pigeon.
3. The province can close the hunt for all or part of its territory during exceptional weather such as severe frost; check your province before going out.
4. Open only in Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland; Groningen, Limburg and Utrecht have no hare season.
5. Outside the season, land users (or hunters acting for them) may also shoot wood pigeons all year under the national exemption, but only to prevent serious damage on land they use.
6. Mallard may be hunted from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset.
7. The rabbit is a game species, but its season has not been opened anywhere in the Netherlands because the population is declining.
8. No hunting season. Land users (or hunters with their written permission) may kill it all year under the national exemption, but only to prevent damage on land they use; not on Sundays and public holidays.
9. Earth dogs may not be used against foxes in their dens from 1 March to 31 August.
10. No hunting season. Land users (or hunters acting for them) may shoot it all year under the national exemption, but only to prevent serious damage on land they use; not on Sundays and public holidays.
11. Not a game species. Shot only under the province's fauna-management plan with a permit or provincial exemption, through the local wildlife management unit (WBE); periods and quotas are set per province.
12. Not a game species. May be shot only under a provincial exemption or permit following the fauna-management plan; species, periods and areas differ by province.
13. Not a game species. Controlled by the water boards' trappers to protect dikes and waterways, not by hunters.
14. Invasive alien species, not game. Removal is organised by the province; hunters may act only under a provincial exemption or assignment.
15. Not a game species in the Netherlands and protected; there is no open season.

Source

Rijksoverheid (Omgevingsregeling) en provincies (faunabeheer)

Legal basis

Omgevingsregeling, artikel 4.17 (opening jacht), met Omgevingswet artikel 8.3, vierde lid, en Besluit activiteiten leefomgeving artikelen 11.66–11.69; landelijke vrijstellingen: Omgevingsregeling artikelen 4.18–4.19 en 4.27–4.28

Published

19 Oct 2026

Season information in the app is for guidance only. Always check current legislation and local rules before you hunt.

Hunting seasons in other countries

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Moldova
• Norway
• Poland
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• United Kingdom