Regional Act No. 50 on the protection of wildlife and culling for hunting purposes, 1993.

Under current legislation the regional authorities are responsible for (i) adopting conservation measures and maintain the wildlife populations in numbers that are consonant with maintaining the ecological balance and ensuring agricultural productivity; (ii) carrying out studies and surveys of the environment and wildlife and promoting schemes to enhance ecological awareness. This Act also empowers the regional governments to adopt administrative programming and coordination methods for the purposes of planning, managing and controlling wildlife and hunting, in conjunction with the National Wildlife Institute (INFS), with hunting and ecological associations, and with the professional farmers' organizations. In the performance of these functions relating to wildlife/hunting plans, intervention programmes and coordination and control schemes, the regional government may use the advisory services of the Regional Commission for the Planning of Wildlife and Hunting. It is prohibited to capture birds and wild mammals, and to collect eggs and nests anywhere in the region. These animals may only be removed for scientific purposes. After the 1994-1995 season, any provinces so requesting may be exceptionally authorized to manage a number of establishments to capture hunting birds. These birds must always be permanently ringed and entered in a register kept by the province for this specific purpose. The agro/sylvo/pastoral territory of the region, particularly the lagoon areas, wetlands and mountains, is subject to wildlife and hunting planning. This is to guarantee the reproductive capacity and natural selection of carnivorous species, and an optimum density of all other species. A regional wildlife and hunting plan has been drafted for this purpose. It has been approved by the Regional Council and will remain in force for five years. It provides a description of the environment of the hunting territories and the minimum and maximum hunting density index. Similar plans have to be drafted at the provincial level.
The provincial authorities are empowered to set up (i) protection areas for the conservation of natural habitats, and for use as havens, reproduction and resting places for wildlife; (ii) replenishment and capture zones where wildlife species can reproduce in a natural state and be captured to establish the optimum wildlife density. The management of these areas may be entrusted to environmental, hunting or agricultural associations, and to local hunting committees. The Act, finally, provides a number of measures governing the organization and control of hunting: authorized and prohibited hunting methods; a test before a hunting permit is issued; the hunting calendar; different forms of hunting and categories of hunting zones; the use of agricultural land for the programmed management of hunting; remedying damage caused by wildlife during hunting operations; policing hunting; etc.