Mountain hare culling on UK grouse moors to reduce tick burdens affecting red grouse raises significant welfare concerns about the management of non-target species.
Mountain hares killed by shooting experience acute suffering from wounding, incomplete kills, and extended death processes in cases of poor marksmanship. Systematic culling programs that remove large proportions of populations within short periods cause widespread individual deaths and potentially orphan leverets. The welfare justification - protecting a managed game bird species - is contested as the ecological relationship between hares, ticks, and grouse is complex and the scale of culling exceeded what evidence justified.