Mountain hares face large-scale culling on Scottish grouse moors to reduce tick burdens on red grouse. This practice is controversial and raises significant welfare concerns for a native British mammal.
Mountain hare culling causes direct individual welfare harm through the shooting of large numbers of animals, some of which may be non-fatally injured. The welfare concern is compounded by the scale of culling on some estates and the questionable scientific justification for the practice. The evidence that large-scale hare culling reduces louping ill transmission to grouse is limited, raising the question of whether this welfare cost is justified by demonstrable conservation or management benefit. Climate change-driven loss of winter white camouflage cover creates additional predation vulnerability. Individually, mountain hares experiencing shooting, chase, or injury suffer acutely; at population level, large-scale culling removes a significant fraction of local populations.