Wild Mountain Hare Climate and Habitat Welfare

Scotland's mountain hares face compounding threats from climate change, habitat management, and disease, creating complex welfare challenges for this iconic upland species.

Key Facts

Mountain hares undergo seasonal coat color change from brown in summer to white in winter, a camouflage adaptation that is increasingly mismatched with earlier snowmelt.
Climate-driven reductions in snow cover leave white-coated mountain hares highly visible against brown ground, dramatically increasing predation risk in winter.
Mountain hare culling in Scotland has been conducted at very high levels on some grouse moors, ostensibly to reduce louping ill tick virus transmission to grouse.
Mountain hares are protected in Scotland under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, but sporting estate management has historically involved mass culls.
Population declines of up to 99% have been recorded on some estate areas where intensive management is practiced, raising both conservation and welfare concerns.

Welfare Considerations

Mountain hare welfare is affected by both the direct harms of culling - which when conducted at high intensity involves significant numbers of animals killed or wounded - and the chronic welfare costs of climate mismatch and habitat degradation. Hares that are mismatched in coat color to their background experience heightened vigilance costs and higher predation rates. The population-level effects of culling restrict social opportunities and may reduce the ability of the population to adapt to climate pressures. Improved legal protection and reform of grouse moor management practices are the most important policy interventions for mountain hare welfare.

What You Can Do

Support Scottish wildlife charities working to strengthen mountain hare protection.
Engage with debates on grouse moor licensing that include mountain hare protection requirements.
Report suspected illegal mountain hare culling to Police Scotland Wildlife Crime Unit.
Support habitat restoration in upland Scotland that benefits the full suite of upland wildlife.