Punjab Duck Hunting Season 2026-27: Dates, Bag Limits and Licence Fee
Punjab's duck hunting season runs 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 on weekends. See bag limits, protected birds, the Rs 2,000 licence fee and how to apply.
Punjab's 2026-27 duck and waterfowl hunting season runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, on Saturdays and Sundays only. You need a shooting licence, which costs Rs 2,000 a year for a Pakistani citizen under the Punjab Wildlife Rules. The daily limit is ten ducks per gun.
Apply for the licence online at wildlife.punjab.gov.pk, the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department's Wildlife Pass portal, or through its Wildlife Pass app. Hunting in protected areas is banned for the whole season.
The first legal shooting day was Saturday 3 October 2026, because 1 October fell on a Thursday. The last weekend is 27 and 28 March 2027. Everything below comes from the Punjab Wildlife Act and its Rules, which we read in full on the Punjab Code website on 1 October 2026.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Season | 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 |
| Shooting days | Saturday and Sunday only |
| Duck limit | Ten ducks of all species per gun per day |
| Licence fee | Rs 2,000 for Pakistanis, Rs 10,000 for foreigners |
| Where to apply | Wildlife Pass portal or app, Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department |
| Banned areas | All protected areas, such as sanctuaries, national parks and game reserves without a permit |
Punjab duck hunting season dates for 2026-27
The Punjab duck hunting season is fixed by law at 1 October to 31 March, on Saturdays and Sundays. The 2026-27 notification, reported on 30 September 2026, keeps those dates and bans all hunting inside protected areas across the province.
The dates are not new. The First Schedule of the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act, 1974 sets "1st October to 31st March on Saturday and Sunday" for ducks. The same window applies to geese, snipe, coot, moorhen and the other waterfowl in that schedule.
The yearly notification that opens the season was reported on 30 September 2026. It requires a valid permit and bans shooting from a moving or occupied vehicle. It was not on the department's website when we checked, so those points are reported. The dates and limits match the Act.
The department's "Hunting Fields" page still said "Hunting season closed for 2020-2021" when we checked on 1 October 2026. That line is out of date.
Bag limits per gun under the First Schedule
The bag limit is the most birds one gun may shoot in a day. For ducks it is ten of all species combined. Cotton teal is limited to two, lesser white-fronted goose to three, coot to twelve and fantail snipe to eight.
The limits come straight from the First Schedule of the Act, which the 2026-27 notification tells hunters to follow. Shooting more than the limit is an offence, the department said in its notification, as reported.
| Bird | Daily limit per gun |
|---|---|
| Ducks, all huntable species together | 10 |
| Cotton teal | 2 |
| Lesser white-fronted goose | 3 |
| Fantail snipe, jack snipe | 8 |
| Coot | 12 |
| Moorhen | 4 |
| Purple moorhen | 2 |
| Red-wattled and white-tailed lapwing, grey plover, curlew | 2 each |
| Godwit, sandpipers, greenshank, redshank, dunlin | 6 of all these together |
Notice the word "per gun". Two hunters sharing one shotgun do not get twenty ducks between them.
Protected ducks and birds you must never shoot
The Third Schedule protects some birds all year, even in season. They include 16 duck species such as marbled teal, white-headed duck and ruddy shelduck, plus all swans, greylag and bar-headed geese, cranes, houbara bustard, pelicans, flamingos, storks and herons.
A marbled teal can look like an ordinary duck at dawn. If you cannot name the bird, do not fire.
The protected ducks in the Third Schedule are:
- Lesser and greater whistling teal
- Ruddy shelduck and common shelduck
- Marbled teal, falcated teal and Baikal teal
- Spot-billed duck, goldeneye and long-tailed duck
- Smew, goosander and red-breasted merganser
- Red-crested pochard, white-headed duck and comb duck
Every crane is protected too, including the demoiselle and common cranes that pass through Punjab in winter.
Shooting licence fees in Punjab
An ordinary shooting licence costs Rs 2,000 a year for a citizen of Pakistan and Rs 10,000 for a foreigner, under the Punjab Wildlife Rules, 1974. A special permit to shoot in a game reserve costs Rs 2,000 per gun per day.
These are the fees in the Rules as published on the Punjab Code website. The Wildlife Pass portal shows the amount at payment, so confirm it there.
| Licence or permit | Fee in the Rules | Valid for |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting licence, Pakistani citizen | Rs 2,000 | One year, whole province |
| Shooting licence, foreigner | Rs 10,000 | One year, whole province |
| Special permit for a game reserve | Rs 2,000 per gun per day | 7 days, named reserve |
| Duplicate of a lost licence | Rs 25 | Same as original |
Read the expiry date with care. The Rules say a shooting licence is valid "upto 31st December of the year for which it is issued", or until your arms licence expires, whichever is earlier. A licence bought in October 2026 may therefore end on 31 December 2026, halfway through the season. Check the date printed on your digital licence and renew in January if needed.
You also need a valid licence for the gun itself. A shooting licence does not replace an arms licence, and in Punjab the digital arms licence now sits in the Pak ID wallet.
How to get a Punjab hunting licence online
Register on the Wildlife Pass portal with your name, father's name, CNIC, mobile number and email. Choose the shooting licence, upload the documents it asks for, pay through ePay Punjab and download the digital licence. The same service is on the Wildlife Pass app.
Wildlife Pass issues shooting licences, possession licences and special shooting permits. We opened its sign-up page on 1 October 2026.
- Open wildlife.punjab.gov.pk and choose Sign Up, or install the Wildlife Pass app.
- Enter your name, father's name, a username, email, CNIC, phone number and a password.
- Log in and select the shooting licence from the licence types.
- Upload the documents the form asks for. Keep your arms licence and CNIC ready.
- Pay the fee online through ePay Punjab, then track the application in your account.
- Download the digital licence and keep it on your phone in the field.
Section 28 of the Act makes you show your permit when an officer asks, so carry a printout as well.
Hunting rules and fines under the Punjab Wildlife Act
Hunting without a licence, or breaking other section 9 rules, can bring two to five years in prison, a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 million, or both. Shooting a protected bird can bring five to seven years or up to Rs 5 million.
The Punjab Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2025 raised these fines. The department's FAQ page still quotes the older Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 range, but the Act applies. Your gun and vehicle can also be confiscated, and both offences are non-bailable.
Section 9 also sets field rules that apply every weekend of the season:
- No shooting from a vehicle, or within 200 yards of one.
- No chasing birds with a vehicle.
- No live decoys or call birds, except for quail.
- No nets, snares or poison, and no PCP, CO2 or silenced air guns.
- Duck blinds are allowed. Most other pits and enclosures are not.
- Ducks may be shot before sunrise and after sunset. Most other game may not.
The smog season overlaps most shooting months, and poor light makes a protected bird harder to tell apart.
Common questions
When does the 2026-27 hunting season start in Punjab?
It opened on 1 October 2026 and closes on 31 March 2027. Shooting is allowed only on Saturdays and Sundays, so the first legal day was Saturday 3 October 2026.
How many ducks can I shoot in a day in Punjab?
Ten ducks of all huntable species together, per gun, per day. Some species have lower limits, such as two cotton teal.
What does a Punjab shooting licence cost?
Rs 2,000 a year for a Pakistani citizen and Rs 10,000 for a foreigner, under the Punjab Wildlife Rules. Confirm the amount on the Wildlife Pass portal before paying.
Is my licence valid for the whole season?
Not always. Under the Rules it ends on 31 December of its year, or earlier if your arms licence expires first.
Can I hunt partridge on the same licence?
The same ordinary shooting licence covers the First Schedule birds, but partridge has its own season. Grey and black partridge may be shot from 15 November to 15 February, on Saturdays only, in areas the department notifies.
Can I hunt in a wildlife sanctuary or national park?
No. The 2026-27 notification bans all hunting in Punjab's protected areas, as reported. Game reserves need a separate special permit, at Rs 2,000 per gun per day.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We last checked this on 1 October 2026. We read the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act, 1974, in the consolidated text on the Punjab Code website, which includes the 2025 amendment, and the Punjab Wildlife Rules, 1974 for the fees. We opened the Wildlife Pass sign-up page and the department's pages on fw.punjab.gov.pk. The 2026-27 notification itself was not on the department's website when we checked, so its specific wording is reported. We will update this when the department publishes it.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
