Working with fauna management

What is fauna management?

Fauna management includes:

• controlling animals that cause damage and nuisance
• ensuring that certain groups of wild animals do not grow too large (population management)
• ensuring that hunting takes place in a responsible way

Every province has a fauna management unit (faunabeheereenheid). This unit is responsible for ensuring good wildlife management. A fauna management unit (in Dutch) is a collaboration of:

• hunters' organisations
• landowners
• groundskeepers
• agricultural and horticultural organisations
• nature conservation and animal protection organisations

The fauna management unit determines the approach to fauna management in a province.

What is a fauna management plan?

Each fauna management unit draws up a fauna management plan for each different animal species. In a fauna management plan, you state:

• how many animals there are of the species
• whether their numbers are increasing or decreasing
• whether the species causes damage and, if so, what kind of damage
• what measures you will take to prevent or control this damage
• what you will do if these measures do not work

The province must approve the fauna management plan. The plan is usually valid for 6 years. The fauna management plan is published on the website of your province's fauna management unit (in Dutch).

Environment permit for killing or capturing animals

Managing fauna effectively means it is sometimes necessary to capture or kill wild animals. A fauna management unit needs an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning) from the province to do this. There are some exemptions. Do you work on fauna management as a hunter, landowner, or groundskeeper? Then you can use the permits and exemptions of the fauna management unit. This is only possible if you are a member of a hunters’ association. Ask your fauna management unit what conditions you must comply with.

Sometimes you can apply for an environment and planning permit yourself to capture or kill an animal species. For example, if there is no fauna management plan for a species. Or if there is no fauna management unit in your area.

Check if you need an environment and planning permit and apply

Go to the online service counter Omgevingsloket (in Dutch) to check if you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning). In the Omgevingsloket you can see which rules apply in your municipality, province, or regional water authority. You can then use the Omgevingsloket to apply online for an environment and planning permit or submit a notification.