Wild Brown Hare Boxing and Spring Welfare

The famous "boxing" behaviour of brown hares in spring — widely attributed to competing males — is actually females fighting off unwanted male advances, reflecting complex reproductive welfare dynamics.

Key Facts

Spring hare "boxing" is primarily female hares (does) fighting off pestering males (bucks) — not male-male competition as commonly believed
Does come into oestrus briefly several times during the breeding season (January-August) but are receptive for only a few hours
Male harassment of unreceptive females is frequent and energetically costly for both sexes
Leverets are born fully furred and open-eyed, and are left in separate hiding places (forms) by the doe who visits briefly to nurse them
Hare populations fluctuate considerably and are monitored through the annual BTO Breeding Bird Survey and hare counts
The brown hare is legally shot in open season — welfare concerns about wounding rates and population impacts remain

Welfare Considerations

Brown hare welfare in spring reflects the costs and benefits of a complex reproductive strategy. Female harassment by multiple males is physically demanding — does expend considerable energy evading or actively repelling males that approach before they are receptive. The solitary, widely dispersed leveret-rearing strategy protects young from predation but means the doe must travel extensively to nurse scattered offspring. Hare welfare concerns include road mortality during the active spring breeding season, agricultural disturbance of forms (shallow depressions where leverets hide), and shooting-related wounding. Mowing of grassland during the March-August period kills leverets hidden in vegetation — delayed cutting and wildlife-friendly mowing patterns can reduce this preventable mortality.

What You Can Do

Support RSPCA campaigns for review of brown hare shooting seasons during peak breeding periods
If farming grassland, delay cutting of hay fields until late July and use wildlife-friendly mowing patterns that allow leverets to escape
Report hare road casualties and sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species national hare monitoring scheme
Maintain rough grassland and hedgerow margins that provide form sites protected from agricultural disturbance