Mountain hares in Scotland face dual threats from driven grouse moor management including culling, and from climate change reducing the cold upland habitats they depend on.
Mountain hare welfare involves both acute suffering from culling operations and chronic habitat stress from climate change. Poorly executed shooting and snaring practices cause injuries and prolonged deaths that are preventable with proper training and equipment. The ethics of culling a native protected species for game management purposes involves genuine welfare tensions that have generated significant public concern. Climate-driven habitat loss represents a more diffuse welfare impact - as suitable cold, upland habitats contract, individual hares experience increased competition, habitat stress, and food insecurity.