Mountain hares are native to Scotland and are legally protected, but driven grouse moor management involves mass culling that raises significant welfare and conservation concerns.
Mountain hares shot in mass culling operations on grouse moors experienced direct welfare harm from shooting that may not guarantee immediate death, and from disruption of social and family groups. The elimination of populations from vast upland areas caused a conservation crisis that is also a welfare crisis - zero animals cannot have welfare. The 2021 protection order represents a significant welfare win but requires enforcement to be effective given the historical culture of culling on managed estates.