Author: Kristin Stone

Despite having suffered a decline in population of up to 80 percent over the last century, hares are afforded little protection during their breeding season.

This cruel anomaly allows many thousands of pregnant and lactating females to be killed during the sensitive spring and summer months, as a result of which tens of thousands of dependent young (leverets) suffer and die.

Research undertake in Norfolk found that by February of the study year, 65 percent of sampled female hares were pregnant and by the end of that month, 50 percent had given birth to their first litter and were lactating [1]. A later survey in Scotland showed that in February, 47 percent of the female brown hares who were shot were pregnant. [2]

It is estimated that at least 300,000 hares are shot in Britain each year [3]. The most recent figure quoted, in 2012, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is 390,000. This represents upto 50 percent of the pre-breeding population. Hare shoots are commonly held during February and March. [4].

Differences in levels of protection in the UK and Europe

In Scotland, the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act of 2011 [5], effective from 2012, makes it an offence to “intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take brown hares [during their breeding season] from 1 February to 30 September (and mountain hares from 1 March to 31 July).

Much of mainland Europe, including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland Spain and Sweden [6] already has legislation in place to protect hares during their breeding period and Northern Ireland has had such protection in place since 1928. [7]

By contrast in England, only a small amount of legal protection is provided for hares: through fragmented 19th century legislation giving some respite from shooting on moorland and unenclosed land from 1 April to 31 August [8], and through the banning of the sale of hares and leverets from 1 March to 31 July [9]. This legislation is clearly in need of modernisation.

Species Action Plan

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan recognises the role of legislation as a means of protecting species under pressure through exploitation, and the Species Action Plan for brown hares proposed a review of the use of legislation pertaining to the shooting and selling of hares in light of research findings on the seasonality of their reproduction [10].

With the Species Action Plan having failed to achieve its target, set in 1995, of doubling the springtime numbers of hares by 2010 [10] , it is time for the government to introduce legislation to give protection to these creatures during their breeding and nursing periods when they are at their most vulnerable.

HSI UK believes that urgent action must now be taken to protect hares and to encourage an increase in population, as envisaged by the Species Action Plan.

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 1. Lincoln, G A (1974) Reproduction and ‘March madness’ in the brown hare, Lepus europaeus. Journal of Zoology, London, 174. 1-14.

 2. Evidence given to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, Scotland, 29 September 2010 by Ron Macdonald, head of policy and advice, Scottish Natural Heritage. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=5775&mode=html#iob_51801

 3. Natural England, Species Information Note SIN001. http://naturalengland.etraderstores.com/NaturalEnglandShop/SIN001

 4. The Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales, June 2000 (Burns report). Section 5: Population Management and Control, Hares (pages 98 – 102)

 5. Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2011/6/contents/enacted

 6. An overview of the current status and protection of the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) in the UK. A report prepared for European Wildlife Division, Defra by Dr David Cowan, Central Science Laboratory, 2004. DEFRA.

 
7. Game Preservation Act (Northern Ireland) 1928. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1928/25/contents

 8. Ground Game Act 1880. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/43-44/47/contents & Ground Game (Amendment) Act 1906. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Edw7/6/21/contents

 9. Hares Preservation Act 1892. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/55-56/8/contents

 10. Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report Volume 2: Action Plans (Annex F and Annex G), 1995. JNCC. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110303145213/http://ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=410#3

The brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and the upland mountain hare (Lepus timidus) have suffered serious population declines during the last century, with brown hare numbers estimated to have plummeted by 80 percent since 1880.

Habitat loss

Much of the decline has been due to changes in land use and agricultural policy. Intensification of farming has resulted in a reduction of the hares’ most favourable habitat and the large machinery used to cut crops can easily kill hidden young. The impact of habitat loss has been recognised, and Natural England has introduced environmental stewardship initiatives to encourage farming practices that are more favourable to wildlife, for instance the cutting of fields from the middle outwards, allowing wildlife to escape farm machinery by fleeing to the sides.

Persecution

Hare coursing, in which pairs of dogs are encouraged to chase hares in order to win points, and hare hunting, which sees packs of dogs driven to chase and kill a hare, are now illegal in Scotland (since 2002), England and Wales (since 2004), but illegal coursing and poaching still threaten these animals. Hare coursing was banned in Northern Ireland in 2011.

It remains legal to shoot hares, and each year tens of thousands of leverets are left to suffer and die when pregnant and nursing females are killed during the spring and summer months.

Scotland recently introduced legislation that makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take brown hares during their breeding season from 1 February to 30 September (and mountain hares from 1 March to 31 July). Much of mainland Europe and Northern Ireland already have such protection in place. However, hares in England still lack this protection.

A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2004 [1] stated that “Enhancing survival and particularly leveret (juvenile hare) survival should be a specific target for conservation action.”

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 1. An overview of the current status and protection of the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) in the UK. A report prepared for European Wildlife Division, Defra by Dr David Cowan, Central Science Laboratory, 2004. DEFRA.

Brown and mountain hares in the UK have suffered serious population declines in the last century, and although the government set a target to double brown hare numbers, these much-maligned animals continue to suffer from many threats.

It is believed that there were approximately 4 million brown hares in England in 1880.

Two research studies carried out in the 1990s revealed figures of just 817,500 (National Hare Survey 1991-1993) and 732,000 (1997-1999). [1]

Brown and mountain hares are listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) [2], and mountain hares are also listed as a “species of community interest,” whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures, under Annex V of the EC Habitats Directive (1992) [3].

UK Biodiversity Action Plan

In 1995, the brown hare was included on the UKBAP “Short List of Globally Threatened/Declining Species” along with eight other mammals, including the water vole, European otter, dormouse and red squirrel. These species were recognised as having declined by “25 to 49 percent in numbers/range in Great Britain in last 25 years” [2]. A Species Action Plan (SAP) was created for brown hares, and a target set to double the 1995 spring numbers by 2010.

The SAP cited a loss of habitat and changes in agricultural methods as the main factors leading to the decline. It also recognised the role of legislation as a means of protecting species under pressure through exploitation, and the proposed a review of the use of legislation pertaining to the shooting and selling of hares in light of research findings on the seasonality of their reproduction. [4]

Failure to meet target

On 7 June 2011, DEFRA minister Richard Benyon confirmed that the Species Action Plan for the brown hare had failed to achieve its 2010 target. In reply to a parliamentary question asked by MP Neil Parish , he said: “…the data we have show that the population of brown hares in Great Britain has continued to increase since the 1980s, although not at the rate needed to meet the target in the UKBAP” [5].

There can be no doubt that brown hares have suffered a substantial decline in numbers and the failure to meet the 2010 SAP target illustrates that action to protect these vulnerable animals is urgently needed.

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 1. Hutchings, M & Harris, S (1996), National Hare Survey 1991-1993.

 2. UK BAP priority terrestrial mammal species. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5170

 3. EC Habitats Directive (1992), species assessments. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4063

 4. Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report Volume 2: Action Plans (Annex F and Annex G), 1995. JNCC. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110303145213/http://ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=410#3

 5. Hansard, Column 66W, 7 June 2011. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110607/text/110607w0003.htm#11060814001162

Hares live above ground, mainly in farmland, and shelter in shallow depressions, known as “forms”, made in grassland or soil.

Lying low and motionless in the form, ears flat against their bodies, hares are difficult to spot, and they rely on this camouflage to protect them from detection by predators. If disturbed, they are capable of running fast in order to escape. Their diet consists mainly of grasses, herbs and cereals, and they prefer a mixed habitat of grassland and crops.

Breeding season

The hares’ famous “Mad March Hare” displays, where groups of up to a dozen or more chase each other and participate in bouts of “boxing”, take place in late winter and early spring. People often assume that the “boxing” involves males competing for mates, but it is actually unreceptive females pushing away amorous males. The main breeding season for brown hares runs from February to September; mountain hares have a slightly shorter season. The female conceals the young (leverets) in a form, visiting them daily for suckling until they are weaned at around 30 days old.

The hare is generally considered a relatively minor problem species in terms of damage to agricultural and forestry interests. [1]

The upland mountain hare

Living in inhospitable upland heather moorland, the main population of mountain hares—also known as blue hares—is found in Scotland, although a smaller number can also be found in the Peak District in England.

The brown/blue coat of the mountain hare moults to white in winter, a change which is understood to be triggered by the shortening daylight hours and which may provide some thermal advantage. A useful camouflage in a snow-covered environment, the white fur can be a burden too, leaving the hare more exposed and more vulnerable to predation in areas where snow is less prevalent, a problem that can only increase as climate change affects the UK’s winter weather.

Like the brown hare, the mountain hare generally lives above ground in a form, but during winter months it can lay-up in heather and scrape out a deeper form in snow to provide a more protective shelter from bad weather. Its diet consists of heather, hillberries, sedges and grasses and its young are generally born and raised from March to August.

Biodiversity Action Plan listing

Concern for its serious population decline saw the brown hare listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and a Species Action Plan created, in 1995. Recognition of population decline and the effect of climate change on its habitat resulted in the mountain hare being added to that Plan in 2007. [2] In addition, it is listed as a “species of community interest,” whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures, under Annex V of the EC Habitats Directive (1992). [3]

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 1. Natural England Species Information Note SIN001. http://naturalengland.etraderstores.com/NaturalEnglandShop/SIN001

 2. UK BAP priority terrestrial mammal species. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5170

 3. EC Habitats Directive (1992), species assessments. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4063

Shark finning—cutting off a shark’s fins and throwing its body overboard to die—occurs because the value of fins outweighs that of shark meat. In 2005, Humane Society International began working with concerned organizations, local advocates and governments to combat shark finning. Today, Latin America has emerged as a leader in addressing this cruel and wasteful practice, with several countries in the region having adopted strong bans on shark finning.

In December 2006, a shark workshop was convened by the Costa Rican sea turtle and shark protection group PRETOMA and sponsored by HSI. Representatives from animal conservation organizations in El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and the USA attended. Participants gave presentations on the key issues affecting sharks in their countries and discussed ways of ending the practice of shark finning.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the groups decided to form the Shark Coalition in order to increase the effectiveness of their work in both domestic and international forums. The coalition committed itself to working towards a global end to shark finning, and to pursuing protective measures for sharks both regionally and worldwide.

Since the formation of the coalition, “fins-attached” finning bans, which mandate that sharks be brought ashore with their fins naturally attached to their bodies, have been adopted in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and the USA, while enforcement of the regulations in Costa Rica has been strengthened. As of December 2011, all Central American countries plus the Dominican Republic have now agreed by consensus to implement a regional ban on shark finning. 

HSI and the coalition also work to increase protection for sharks within the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), at the UN General Assembly, and at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

HSI UK does not believe that a licensing and inspection system can adequately protect the welfare of wild animals in British circuses, for the following reasons:

• A licensing system will not prevent new animals or new species of animals from being introduced.
  
  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has made it clear that any licensing system needs to be ‘achievable’, and representatives of the circus industry have stated that they believe licensing could encourage more circuses to consider using wild animals, since the system would effectively legitimise their use;
• Licensing requirements will be necessarily generic, given the very wide range of species the circus industry could potentially employ;
• Inspections by their nature will be ‘spot checks’ and cannot possibly account for all the various situations in which circus animal may find themselves in different locations, during transit, training, or in winter housing (which may be overseas);
• Circuses often perform on private land, and there is no guarantee that private landowners will allow inspectors onto their land to carry out random inspections;
• A licensing and inspection system will create a lot of red tape and bureaucracy, which is contrary to the principles of the government’s own Better Regulation Executive’s aspirations.

In short, licensing and inspection will not protect the welfare of wild animals in circuses in Britain. Only a ban can achieve that.

HSI will continue to work closely with other like-minded organisations to persuade DEFRA ministers to abandon plans for licensing and inspection, in favour of the introduction of a complete ban as swiftly as is possible using the most appropriate legal and political means available.

In March 2006 the then Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Minister responsible for Animal Welfare, Ben Bradshaw, announced his intention to introduce Regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ban the use of certain non-domesticated species in travelling circuses, whose welfare needs cannot be satisfactorily met in that environment.

A Circus Working Group was established to consider the issue and DEFRA undertook a Circus Feasibility Study to investigate the possibility of regulating the use of wild animals in circuses.

In December 2009, the then DEFRA Minister for Animal Welfare, Jim Fitzpatrick, launched a 12- week public consultation on the use of wild animals in circuses. It closed on 15th March 2010 having received more than 10,500 responses.

In March 2010, DEFRA revealed that more than 94 percent of respondents to the public consultation favoured a complete ban and Jim Fitzpatrick said he was “minded” to introduce a ban.

However, the government ran out of time to introduce legislation, and the incoming Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government (which took office in May 2010) sought further advice and consultation on the issue, eventually announcing that there were “legal obstacles” to introducing a ban.

On 13 May 2011, DEFRA announced that is was to introduce a “tough new licensing regime” for circus operators to meet in relation to performing wild animals. This sparked intense public debate.

By June 2011, almost 200 Members of Parliament had signed Early Day Motion 403 calling for a ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses.

Two parliamentary debates on the issue took place; one in Westminster Hall on 8th June, and one in the House of Commons on 23rd June at which MPs voted overwhelmingly to direct the government ‘to use its powers under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to introduce a Regulation banning the use of all wild animals in circuses to take effect by 1 July 2012’.

A ban on the use of wild animals in circuses has overwhelming public and parliamentary support up to and including at the ministerial level, with Conservative ministers saying they too are “minded” to introduce a ban.

Yet, despite such overwhelming support, as of December 2011 the government is still pursuing its previously announced licensing and inspection system.