Madrid Law Gives Hunters Priority on Public Paths

New Madrid Hunting Law Blocks Cyclists and Hikers

The government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso has approved a reform to the Hunting and Fishing Act that gives collective hunts priority over all other uses on public paths during weekends and holidays. The regulation allows hunters to set up shooting posts on these roads and ban access to people not involved in the activity, sparking heated controversy among rural users.

What exactly does the law say?

The law is not limited to big game. According to the text, placing posts on public paths is foreseen for driven hunts (monterías) and battues for big game, but also for drives for pigeons, thrushes, and other forms of small game considered collective. Article 5 extends this priority to such hunts, and Article 24.6 permits authorizing the use of weapons near public roads. In practice, during hunting days—usually concentrated on weekends and holidays—access to dozens of paths is restricted with "No Entry" signs and sometimes monitored by hunters or forest agents themselves.

Comparison with Castilla-La Mancha

The controversy is not exclusive to Madrid. In Castilla-La Mancha, governed by socialist Emiliano García-Page, a similar modification was approved in July 2024, allowing posts on public paths during driven hunts. Critics point out that both regulations are equally restrictive, although the impact is greater in Madrid due to population density and heavy path usage. Meanwhile, defenders argue it is a safety issue: preventing walkers from encountering gunfire, and remind that many of these paths are rights of way over private property, maintained by hunting estates.

Clash between rural land uses

The conflict reflects a long-standing struggle for rural space. On one hand, hunters, who pay licenses and fees, demand to conduct their activity without interference. On the other, the growing number of cyclists, hikers, and runners using public paths on weekends, often unaware of right-of-way rules. The law leaves little room for negotiation: when there is a hunt, the shotgun rules. For many, this amounts to a covert privatization of public land.

The paradox is that in a region where rural tourism and outdoor sports generate income and jobs, the rule could drive away thousands of regular users. But perhaps that is secondary: after all, hunting also moves votes.