The Mértola City Council invests in a strategic project for the recovery of the Iberian Hare and the Wild Rabbit in the municipality of Mértola.
In recent years, diseases have drastically affected wild rabbit and Iberian hare populations throughout the country and, consequently, in a significant area of ​​the municipality of Mértola.
Mértola has an important brand to defend: National Hunting Capital. So that we can continue to assume and add this brand to Mértola, we have to give it sustainability. From this perspective, the municipality has defined some strategies for the hunting sector, in order to find solutions to some of the serious problems that the sector is experiencing.
It's a fact, that these leporids, namely the wild rabbit, is extremely important in the diet of the Iberian lynx and the imperial eagle. It is also one of the most sought after game species by hunters across the country.. For all this, the wild rabbit and the Iberian hare, play a very important role in the conservation and preservation of our fantastic biodiversity that we are privileged to have in the municipality of Mértola.
One of the strategies that is being implemented immediately, was to establish a strategic partnership with a company specializing in wild rabbit and Iberian hare breeding.
The PRLIC project (Wild Rabbit and Iberian Hare Recovery Project), in summary, is fundamentally based on 4 phases: 1ª fase: create physical conditions in 4 parks that are located in the Municipal Hunting Zone; 2ª fase: place the animals (wild rabbit and Iberian hare) inside the parks; 3ª fase: repopulate the Municipal Hunting Zone with animals raised in these parks and 4th phase: replicate this same model, in other areas and hunting in the municipality of Mértola that feel the need to increase their wild rabbit and Iberian hare numbers.
After finishing this project, the municipality intends to start a new project similar to the one described above, but this time with the focus on the Red Partridge.
