Hi everyone!
This is probably going to be a rather unusual first post. A bit of context: I fell head over heels in love with Portugal over 10 years ago. My dream is to move here in a few years max. As I a few years ago I also fell in love with ecology, I decided to combine the two and used my savings not to a pay deposit for a mortgage like any sane person would, but to buy a piece of forested land in Algarve, study and protect its biodiversity. It is a beautiful place and has become the home of my heart. When I have time off work I go camp there for a couple of weeks, clean up dry trees and ivy to prevent wild fires, hike, and talk to local people.
Sounds like heaven, right? Well, it would indeed have been perfect if that area also hadn’t been a favorite hunting spot. Their territory is vast, but I guess the spots near my forest are either very accessible or are just abound with the birds they are after. I have gone through the ICNF process and my land is now the “no hunting zone” since over a year, but because it is quite a small piece of land, when a hunter positions himself (I have only seen men doing this so far) at the edge of my forest, the shots are deafening (and very scary). My attempts to signal to them that a person is doing forestry work nearby have only resulted in even more and louder shots, as if they fire in my direction, which is honestly terrifying.
I am not here to judge anyone, I understand that for decades that place was standing abandoned and was their territory (I collected bags full of used cartridges off the ground). I called ICNF but they claim that unless the hunters are on my land, they are doing everything legally. But I’ve gone half-deaf on some days and I simply don’t understand how that can be legal, especially when they have so much space and I only have a plot 80 by 80 meters.
Please share any relevant experience you’ve had and how you have gone about this situation. I want to be respectful of the culture but not at the cost of my health. As the hunters are there 3/7 days in the weeks when I can do forestry work in winter, I cannot just “wait it out somewhere else” as I have no where else to go and they are there from dawn till dusk.
Muito obrigada,
Kati