Nets deployed on agricultural land, recordings of bird songs, projectors for night outings: operations against illegal hunting in Lebanon this autumn target both equipment and shooters. Two interventions documented in October and early November 2026 show how the Internal Security Forces (ISF) are cooperating with specialized organizations to locate these facilities.
In Akkar, almost 25,000 square meters of nets
In a press release dated 20 October, ISPs announced the seizure of approximately 165 nets in several agricultural properties of the Akkar Plain. Their cumulative area was nearly 25,000 square metres. The information received by the Northern Investigation Detachment concerned catches for sale.
The officers also seized four capture devices, one battery, three speakers and electrical cables. The intervention mobilized the cooperation of the APU anti-branching unit, the MECSHAP centre and the CABS international organisation. ISPs then increased the total of nets removed during operations in the North and Bekaa to approximately 63,000 square metres.
These areas describe seized material, not a number of saved birds. The ISPs indicate that they have handed over the objects to the competent unit on judicial instructions.
In Naameh, documented complaint triggers intervention
MECSHAP reported another operation in a publication on 5 November. In the Naameh region, the Mount Lebanon Investigation Unit targeted night hunting activities. Durable hunters had submitted a documented complaint to the APU.
According to the centre, several people were arrested and vehicles stopped. Seizures included rifles, projectors, electric generators and bird-breeding devices to attract them. The record does not specify the number of persons questioned.
This intervention associated the ISPs with the APU-CABS team. MECSHAP describes coordination with the Gendarmerie Command Operations Room and the ISP Public Relations Division. The identification of practices on the ground thus precedes police intervention.
Illegal hunting: permit does not allow all means
Law 580 of 25 February 2004 prohibits, inter alia, nets, traps, projectors and electrical devices used to hunt. It also prohibits recordings imitating the screams of birds or animals. The ban concerns their use, but also their sale and exposure.
These restrictions on equipment add to the calendar and species rules. The Minister of the Environment shall determine the season and authorized periods. Birds and wild animals not designated as authorized game animals remain protected throughout the year. Holding a licence therefore does not permit the use of a prohibited device.
The text provides for the confiscation of the weapon used and, where necessary, the destruction of prohibited means, in addition to the applicable sanctions. Seizures announced this fall are a step in the process: they alone are not valid for final judicial decisions against those arrested.
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