Hares Under Siege: Facing Threats from All Directions
Hares are not protected by law
Many people may be surprised to learn that the iconic hare, which is loved by many, is a pest animal and a wild game animal. It has no closed season and is therefore not protected under UK law. It is therefore not protected from poachers, hunters, and coursers.
I live in a part of the UK that is populated by hares. I see them in the fields every day, whether I’m driving by or walking. Sometimes there are five or six of them together. I consider myself fortunate to have had so many close encounters and am always amazed by their sheer beauty and size. It has become one of my favorite UK wild mammals.
It is sad that these animals are the least protected and that many people hate them. Over time, hunters have deemed certain animals to be “game” that can be eaten or killed. This status has been enshrined into law. The “closed” season for most game animals is usually a few weeks during the breeding season. This allows them to increase their numbers and be hunted throughout the rest of year.
These animals deserve a break
Philip Mansbridge said, CEO of Care for the Wild International: “I believe people would be shocked if they knew that the people who kill hares get to decide whether or not there is a closed season. DEFRA must step in and involve wildlife organizations to achieve balance. These animals deserve a break.
The hare is unfortunately subject to a 19 th. The Ground Game Act of 1880 is a 19th century law. Their legal shooting is allowed throughout the year, including during the breeding season which runs from February to September. They are the only game animals in England and Wales that have this restriction. The UK, unlike Scotland and 18 other European countries, does not have a closed season.
Countryside Alliance, on the other hand, believes that a closed season would be harmful to them, and that they are a stable population. They oppose any legislation. Conservationists and Welfarists, however, believe that killing lactating mothers and causing their dependent offspring’s deaths is cruel.
Pest control, diseases, and the loss of suitable food and habitat are all attacking them.
In addition, they are also considered a pest animal. They are grouped with rabbits as animals that destroy crops and eat the bark of trees in the winter months when food is scarce. They eat grasses and plants. To make them even more hated, pest controllers point out they carry fleas as well as a disease known called Yersiniosis which can cause serious illness and death in humans.
It is said that their numbers are constantly declining and if they weren’t such rapid breeders, they would have been extinct long ago. In the past, there were approximately 4 million hares. However, estimates place this number anywhere between 6-880,000. The research on the animal is outdated because few people are interested in it. Some estimates are outrageous, claiming that up to 400,000 wolves are shot every year. This does not seem accurate.
The hares’ preferred habitats of meadows and hedgerows have decreased, and modern open-farmed fields expose them and leave them vulnerable, with less food. Pesticides and herbicides are deadly to them. In recent years, hares have suffered from the shift away from mixed farming that provided them with the grassy habitats needed to feed their families and to raise a household, to intensive livestock or arable production.
Scientists believe that the mxymatosis, a rabbit-borne disease which causes lung bleeding and hepatitis, is spreading to hares.
Let’s be honest, hares would benefit from a few new friends.
In my part of East Anglia, the hares are also subjected to illegal hare-coursing. No walk through the countryside is complete without signs nailed on gate posts asking that any suspicious behavior be reported to police.