Wild Brown Hare Welfare in Agricultural Landscapes

The brown hare is one of Britain's most distinctive mammals, but declining agricultural landscapes and traditional countryside practices create significant welfare challenges for this iconic species.

Key Facts

Brown hare populations have declined by approximately 80% since the 1960s in the UK
Intensification of agriculture has removed hedgerows, reduced crop diversity, and shrunk habitat quality
Leverets (young hares) are born above ground and are highly vulnerable to agricultural machinery
Hares are killed in large numbers through legal coursing, shooting, and accidental deaths
Hares do not burrow, relying on shallow depressions called forms for shelter and protection
Disease including the European Brown Hare Syndrome (EBHS) virus can cause rapid mass mortality
Hares require large home ranges of 300-400 hectares, making fragmented landscapes particularly unsuitable

Welfare Considerations

Brown hares face welfare challenges from multiple sources in modern agricultural landscapes. Habitat loss reduces food quality and availability, causing chronic nutritional stress. Machinery casualties during harvest are a significant source of acute welfare harm. Legal hare coursing, though regulated, involves dogs chasing hares over open ground - a direct welfare cost regardless of whether the hare escapes. Disease outbreaks can cause rapid, widespread suffering. Agri-environment schemes that support hare-friendly farming are the most effective broad-scale welfare intervention available.

What You Can Do

Support agri-environment schemes and organisations that promote hare-friendly farming practices
Report hare population sightings to the Brown Hare Survey and citizen science networks
Advocate for mandatory machinery survey cuts during hare breeding season
Support calls for improved legal protection of brown hares from coursing and night shooting
Plant species-rich field margins and hedgerows on any land you manage