Brown Hare Welfare and Conservation

Brown hares have declined significantly in the UK and face welfare threats from agricultural intensification, coursing, and changing land management practices.

Key Facts

Brown hare numbers in the UK have declined by approximately 80% since the 1960s
Hares rely on open farmland with varied crop types providing year-round feeding and shelter
Coursing, where hares are chased by greyhounds for sport, was banned in England and Wales in 2004
Hares do not burrow but rely on open-country escape strategies making them vulnerable to machinery
Leverets are altricial and are left alone by the doe during the day, making them vulnerable to predation and disturbance

Welfare Considerations

Brown hares suffer welfare impacts from agricultural operations including nest destruction by spring cultivation, mortality from harvesting machinery, and loss of the field margin habitat that provides shelter and food in winter. Leverets left by their mothers are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be orphaned and picked up by well-meaning members of the public, which causes distress and usually reduces survival chances. Illegal hare coursing, despite the legal ban, continues in some areas and causes acute welfare harm through exhaustion, injury from falls, and dog attack. Hares that escape coursing dogs suffer prolonged physiological stress even when physically uninjured.

What You Can Do

Leave field margins and headlands uncut to provide hare shelter and food resources
Report suspected illegal hare coursing to police immediately
Never pick up a leveret that appears alone, as the mother will return
Support agri-environment schemes that include brown hare habitat management requirements
Contribute to Great British Hare Count surveys to support population monitoring