Wild Animals

Wild Brown Hare Habitat Loss

The brown hare is a native UK mammal that has declined significantly due to agricultural intensification, with populations estimated to have fallen by 80% since Victorian times.

Key Facts

UK hare population estimated at fewer than 800,000, down from 4 million in the Victorian era
Hares are above-ground animals relying on crops and grassland for cover
Autumn-sown crops reduce winter stubble and spring ploughing destroys leverets
Coursing and shooting add to population pressure in some regions

Welfare Considerations

Brown hares require large territories and show long-distance flight responses when disturbed. Agricultural machinery poses lethal risks to leverets concealed in crops. Hares exposed to coursing experience extreme fear and often severe injury. Population fragmentation increases stress through reduced mate availability and resource competition.

What You Can Do

Support agri-environment schemes that provide winter stubble and beetle banks
Report illegal hare coursing to the police immediately
Avoid disturbing field margins during the leverets season (March-August)
Join hare monitoring schemes through the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust