New move to ban shooting of hares in breeding season

Experts warn numbers are collapsing as 300,000 are killed for sport every year

Jamie Doward

Sun 5 May 2019 06.00 BST

The nation’s deep affection for the hare, once a common sight in fields, is recorded in prose, pub names and poetry. Writers including Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and Ted Hughes have paid tribute to the UK’s fastest land mammal, while any English county will boast at least one pub with the word hare in its name. But now a failure to revive numbers after a century of decline from an estimated four million to under 800,000 has triggered moves to protect hares during their breeding season.

Former agriculture minister George Eustice is introducing a private member’s bill that would make it illegal to shoot hares from February to September. “England and Wales are among the few remaining European countries that do not have a modern close season on shooting hares during their breeding season, which is a terrible oversight,” Eustice said.

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Pre-Hispanic Mexican civilization may have bred and managed rabbits and hares

August 17, 2016

Humans living in the pre-Hispanic Mexican city of Teotihuacan may have bred rabbits and hares for food, fur and bone tools, according to a study published August 17, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andrew Somerville from the University of California San Diego, US, and colleagues.

Human-animal relationships often involve herbivore husbandry and have been key in the development of complex human societies across the globe. However, fewer large mammals suitable for husbandry were available in Mesoamerica. The authors of the present study looked for evidence of small animal husbandry in the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan, which existed northeast of what is now Mexico City from A.D. 1-600. The authors performed stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of 134 rabbit and hare bone specimens from the ancient city and 13 modern wild specimens from central Mexico to compare their potential diets and ecology.

Compared to modern wild specimens, the authors found that Teotihuacan rabbit and hare specimens had carbon isotope values indicating higher levels of human-farmed crops, such as maize, in their diet. The specimens with the greatest difference in isotope values came from a Teotihuacan complex that contained traces of animal butchering and a rabbit sculpture.

While the ancient rabbits and hares included in this study could have consumed at least some farmed crops through raiding of fields or wild plants, the authors suggest their findings indicate that Teotihuacan residents may have provisioned, managed, or bred rabbits and hares for food, fur, and bone tools, which could be new evidence of small mammal husbandry in Mesoamerica.

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What's the Difference Between Rabbits and Hares?

by Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | March 25, 2016 03:58pm ET

If a rabbit or a hare were to hop across your path this Easter, would you be able to tell the difference?

Both are furry and capable of pulverizing a vegetable garden, but they have several key differences. Here are some tips that will transform you into a bunny expert come Easter time.

Rabbits and hares are closely related, said Mary Dawson, curator emeritus of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. They belong to the same order (Lagomorpha) and family (Leporidae), but they have separate genuses. 

The 30 or so species of hares fit into just one genus (Lepus), whereas rabbits branch out into 10 genuses, including the North American genus Sylvilagus, more commonly known as cottontails. There are also about 30 species of rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which is often bred as a pet.

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Ancient El Niños triggered Baja bunny booms

Date:

June 4, 2015

Source:

University of Utah

Summary:

At times during the past 10,000 years, cottontails and hares reproduced like rabbits and their numbers surged when the El Niño weather pattern drenched the Pacific Coast with rain, according to an analysis of 3,463 bunny bones.

The study of ancient rabbit populations at a Baja California site may help scientists better understand how mammals that range from the coast to the interior will respond to climate change, says anthropology doctoral student Isaac Hart. He is first author of the study to be published in the July issue of the journalQuaternary Research.

During the past 10,000 years, the number of El Niños per century "correlates very strongly with the total rabbit population in Baja California, as well as relative abundance of the moisture-loving species of rabbits," Hart says.

"There weren't many El Niños from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago," perhaps zero to two per century, says the study's senior author, anthropology professor Jack Broughton. "After 5,000 years ago, there was a relatively dramatic increase in frequency of El Niños in Baja, and the rabbits go through the roof."

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Citizen science: Rabbit and hare population mapped

By Helen Briggs

BBC Environment Correspondent

3 April 2015 

From the sectionScience & Environment

Biologists are calling on the public to report sightings of rabbits and hares as part of a conservation effort.

The animals are easier to spot in spring when vegetation is low and the breeding season is under way.

Hares may be declining in parts of the UK, while rabbits have been hit by myxomatosis and other viral diseases, says the Mammal Society.

People are being asked to send in photographs of rabbits and hares to help map the UK population.

Dr Fiona Mathews, senior lecturer in mammalian biology and chair of the Mammal Society, said: "We have very poor information on rabbits and hares - and it's important to know if numbers are going up or down.

"They are part of the ecosystem and lots of other animals depend on them, either through grazing of their habitat or as a food source for foxes or birds of prey."

Mammal atlas

She said some parts of the UK had very low populations of rabbits and hares, particularly where there had been disease outbreaks. However, in other regions they have become so abundant they have become agricultural pests.

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Hare Removal – Battle for hares hots up as shooting lobby ignores calls for a closed season

The 1,000 hares shot a day need protection, claim animal welfare groups

March 2013. A new plan to manage hare populations in England has been condemned by animal welfare groups after it ignored calls for a ‘closed season'. A draft code of practice for brown hare management has been drawn up for DEFRA by the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC), but a coalition of animal welfare groups claim that it ignores vital concerns.

350,000 hares shot every year
Care for the Wild, the Humane Society International, Blue Hare, and the Hare Preservation Trust are concerned that the current tally of around 350,000 hares hunted each year out of a national population of 750,000 is simply unsustainable.

Photo: Wikipedia

Philip Mansbridge, CEO of Care for the Wild, said "Letting the shooting lobby manage wildlife protection sounds like a bad joke but that is what is happening. The argument for a closed season to protect pregnant mothers and their young in February is scientifically sound, common sense and would put England in line with Scotland. At the moment, hares are suffering from a postcode lottery which is threatening the future of the entire population," he said.

Research from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust states that shooting hares during February can remove up to 60% of breeding hares. The hare coalition is seeking a meeting with wildlife minister Richard Benyon, requesting that DEFRA take control of the process. Initially the object would be to give Natural England the responsibility of drawing up a draft voluntary code for a closed season, but with the ultimate aim of getting a closed season written in law.

The process would involve working closely not only with shooting, farming and landowning organisations, but also with all key animal welfare and wildlife protection groups in the UK.

80% decline in hare populations
A century ago there were around 4 million hares but the population has been reduced by about 80%, mainly because of farming practices that have reduced their habitat, and the annual kill. Previous government plans to double the hare population by 2010 failed.

"Hares are one of the forgotten victims of English wildlife. I think people would be shocked to know that on average around 1000 are killed every day. That's a deplorable statistic, so asking for a closed season to  protect mothers and their babies is frankly not much to ask," said Mr Mansbridge.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/hare-shooting013.html

UK hare numbers decline by 80% - Time for a close season

Hare hunting should be banned during breeding season - Urge your MP to sign a motion
June 2012. Hare numbers have declined from around 4 million a century ago to just 750-800,000 hares today.

There are two main reasons for this decline. 

A shift in agricultural practices so hay meadows have been replaced by silage production. Under this system, the meadows are cut more often each year so the leverets (baby hares) get killed by farm machinery more often as they do not have earths to escape to, unlike rabbits.

Although it is illegal to hunt hares with dogs, it isn't illegal to shoot them for sport. Tens of thousands of leverets starve to death each year when their nursing mothers are shot. It is estimated that around 400,000 hares are shot each year for sport, potentially 50% of their total population of 750-800,00.

All other game species have close season
Every other game species in Britain has a close season, and close seasons for hares operate in Northern Ireland, Scotland and much of mainland Europe already. Merely by bringing England into line with the rest, the hare population would have some breathing space and would almost certainly rebound. Hares were part of a Government species action plan in 1995 that aimed to double their numbers by 2010; this target was not met.

Research has shown that by February each year 65 percent of sampled female hares were pregnant, and by the end of the month 50 percent had given birth to their first litter of the year and were lactating. A survey in Scotland showed that in February 47 percent of female brown hares that were shot were pregnant; in September, it was 44 percent. It is estimated that at least 390,000 hares are shot in Britain each year, with hare shoots commonly organised in February & March (peak breeding season).

The same 2004 report for DEFRA stated "It could be argued that the introduction of a close season might be beneficial in terms of animal welfare through a reduction in culling of lactating females with dependent offspring."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/hare-protection.html#cr

The gloves are off at RSPB reserves

With spring approaching, the brown hares of the UK are starting to ‘box’, and the we're encouraging people to head to our nature reserves to see the opening bouts of these amazing seasonal matches.

Unlike the male parties of the well-publicised recent heavyweight fracas, the dramatic sight of hares ‘boxing’ is actually the females fighting off the unwanted attention of overly amorous males.

The males gather together vying for the female’s attention and if not impressed, she uses fisticuffs to fend them off.

Ideal habitat

Having spent the winter months snuggling together for body warmth on exposed grasslands, the normally shy animals are out now, ‘boxing’ in broad daylight.

Hares don’t store enough fat in their bodies to survive over winter, and need a constant food supply throughout the year. Preferring wild grasses and herbs to eat, many RSPB nature reserves provide ideal habitat for these enigmatic animals with open landscapes and mixes of wild grassland.

Pairs of hares have been sparring since the beginning of February and over the coming weeks the groups will get bigger – lucky viewers may see as many as eight or nine jostling together. 

RSPB Saltholme visitor and photographer Darren Clark said: “It’s amazing to see this treat of nature so close-up. Your patience can be tested as they’re not always easy to see, but when you finally see them going for it, it’s breath-taking.”

Where can I see them?

As the spectacle gathers pace, there are many places UK-wide where you can get a ringside seat, including:

• Saltholme, near Stockton, is going all out to help visitors see the hares in action. Every weekend during March, volunteers will be on hand at two specially-made boxing-ring themed viewpoints – nicknamed the red corner and the blue corner.
• Buckenham Marshes in Norfolk is great for seeing hares, both on the reserve and in the arable fields around the car park.
• Havergate Island in Suffolk is offering boat trips to the island to hopefully see the spectacle close up. Contact RSPB Minsmere to book on 01728 648281.
• Otmoor is a great place to wander this spring in the hope of glimpsing the hares lolloping in the open Oxfordshire countryside.

As well as providing important habitat for the vulnerable brown hare, Otmoor’s exposed landscape has inspired passion from local people over the years, from farmers to world-renowned authors, including John Buckham and Lewis Carroll.

Once a local resident to Otmoor, it is thought that the chequer-board field patterns of its landscape inspired Lewis Carroll’s second Alice in Wonderland novel, Through the Looking Glass – it is possible his March Hare was also inspired by Otmoor’s mad March hares!

For more information on where to see boxing hares this March, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves

Go on, get out there, enjoy yourself! 

Read on:  http://www.rspb.org.uk/media/releases/308541-the-gloves-are-off-at-rspb-reserves

Bad Hare Day

10:52am UK, Thursday July 22, 2010
Alex Watts, Sky News Online

A greyhound race was thrown into chaos in Australia - when a real hare strayed on to the track.

A dog called Ginny Lou was in third place on the last bend when it spotted the animal and veered off after it.

The incredible scene was captured on TV cameras as the 20/1 outsider sprinted off the track at Shepparton in Victoria.

Angry gamblers were forced to tear up their betting slips when the 390m Finer Fruit Stakes race was then abandoned.

Bookmakers handed back the £18,500 that had been waged.

Racing officials spent the night searching for the hare, but it could not be found.

Trainer Scott Stefanos said the intruder had cost him $75 (£43) in prize money for the third place.

"Ginny Lou is pretty smart because she's the only dog who set off after the real thing," he told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

"It's a shame she didn't get rewarded for her efforts.

"The lure must have scared it because it's come from underneath the inside fence, took a couple of strides towards the dogs, realised it was going the wrong way and then darted across the track.

"Ginny Lou has slammed on the brakes and off she went. To her credit she thought she was doing the right thing, then had the nous to carry on and join the rest of the field."

Shepparton club president John Martin said he had no idea where the hare had come from.

"We've got full-time staff here who are still looking for that damn rabbit," he added.

Racing experts said the odd snake or duck had been seen on greyhound courses in Australia, but never a live hare.

See video at: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Australia-Greyhound-Race-Hare-Strays-On-To-Wrong-Side-Of-Track-At-Shepparton-Victoria/Article/201007415669087?f=rss