See HUNTING (Index voice).
Hunting, as an economic activity, has been known in the Basque Country since the dawn of the Palaeolithic period. At the end of this very long prehistoric period, the exogamic-patriarchal hunting culture slowly evolved towards an exogamic-matriarchal structure. The hunting of bison, horses, wild boar, reindeer and deer was complemented by the capture of smaller species, such as hares.
Throughout history, hunting also appears as a favourite sport and occupation of the nobility. The Basque king Don García el Restaurador died hunting in the vicinity of Estella, as did the infante Don Fernando, son of Sancho el Fuerte. The Charter of Navarre (13th century) contains important ordinances regulating hunting and falconry. A book written by Sancho el Sabio, Paramientos de caza , written around 1180, is mentioned, although it has not been located. Another important treatise is Les deduictz de chasse , by Gaston Febo of Navarre (1387), which not only describes hunting in his time, but also includes valuable miniatures on the customs and clothing of the country.
The importance of hunting is reflected in the scenes sculpted by Romanesque and Gothic artists on capitals, corbels, tympanums and archivolts in churches. Hunting was practised not only by nobles and kings, but also by monks. Don Carlos II of Navarre is depicted travelling accompanied by lions. Don Carlos III, in 1396, hunted wild boar in the Cortes and Castejón groves, near Tudela. John II and Doña Juana Enriquez spent three days hunting pigs in the grove of Mora, near Cortes, in 1457.
The hunters of the time used arrows, spears, chuzos, axes and crossbows, and used dogs along with tame cheetahs, leopards and lions for hunting mammals, as well as hawks for hunting birds. When the dogs flushed the game, they released the leopard, which pounced on the prey. The hunters would then descend from their mounts and throw a piece of fresh meat to the leopard to make it release its prey. These wild beasts were bred and kept by the kings of Navarre in the lion's den of the Palace of Olite.
With time and the softening of customs, the hunting of wild beasts lost importance in favour of falconry. In the 16th century, some commoners began to practise big game hunting. The inhabitants of Allo and the villages around Baigorri hunted deer for sale in the butcher's shops. Sport hunting became a regulated and economically profitable activity. For example, Per de Uxani and others sold 207 martens to Charles III the Noble at half a florin each.
The so-called ‘villain hunters’, who lived in Gurbindo (now Leranoz), Leranoz and other towns, had a special status. According to the Fuero General, these hunters had to pay a tribute to the king, known as ‘la vaca corta por asadura’. In 1328, at the Cortes of Puente la Reina, the presence of representatives of this community is recorded, such as Juan García, sworn sworn in by the king's hunters, and Don García Yeneguiz, abbot of Usechi. In 1463, the king exempted Martín Echaverri and his wife, neighbours of Zubiri, who until then paid 12 sueldos and 3 cahices of barley per year, from paying this tax. In 1576, the tax was fixed and was paid by the villages of Zubiri, Usechi, Iragui, Leranoz and Gurbindo.
The nobleman was always accompanied by his falcon, even in times of war. These birds were imported from Sweden, Turkey, Iceland and other countries at great expense. There was a period when the falcon became abundant in the region, protected by law. To counter poaching, kings brought goshawks and falcons from Ireland, the Landes de Bordeaux and Barcelona. The position of falcon master was highly prestigious and enjoyed important privileges. In 1338, the chancellor Pero López de Ayala wrote El libro de la caza de las aves (The Book of Hunting Birds). In 1555, the Cortes of Estella addressed the conservation of hunting, a concern that was also expressed in the Cortes of Pamplona in 1662.
In the Fuero de Bizkaia , volume XXXI, an ordinance is established that allows the people of Bizkaia to continue hunting even if it crosses other municipalities and jurisdictions. Furthermore, in closed season, no hunting licence could be granted under any circumstances, as decreed by the Courts of Pamplona in 1550 and those of Estella in 1556.
Hunting of wild beasts still persisted in some areas in the 17th century. In 1603, the municipality of Villafranca awarded prizes to hunters who shot a wild ounce. In 1606, prizes were awarded to hunters who killed a tiger on Mount Agaunza (Atáun). In 1776, shepherds from Idiazabal captured a tiger weighing 39 kilos. Other specimens were hunted in Motrico (1762), Oyarzun (1787) and Lizarza (1777), where two leopards were shot.
The privilege of bearing arms granted to the Bayonese by various kings included the right to hunt, not only in their jurisdiction, but also in the surrounding area. In August 1612, an incident in Ustaritz illustrates this right: the lord of Moisset was questioned by peasants who asked him by what right he was hunting quail in the area. He claimed to have permission from the king, but the villagers stated that neither the monarch nor the lord of Gramont could grant such permissions, as they were defending these rights on behalf of the lord of Haitze and the municipality. Shortly afterwards, at the Ustaritz cemetery, the community reaffirmed their right to hunt on their land. However, with the centralisation of power, the Bayonne lost this privilege. In 1770, they were already forbidden to hunt around the Saint-Bernard convent. Shortly afterwards, the Marquis d'Amou, the king's lieutenant, imposed an ordinance requiring hunting permits and ordering the confiscation of rifles from those who did not possess them. Louis-Henri de Caupenne, field marshal, was in charge of surveillance for the parishes of Saint-Étienne, Tarnos and Ondres.
See DOVE, Hunting of the. Hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the widespread use of firearms, suffered a terrible impact.