The brown hare is one of Britain's most charismatic mammals but has declined by 80% since the 1960s, facing threats from agricultural intensification and coursing.
Brown hare welfare is shaped by a combination of chronic population pressure and acute suffering events. Agricultural change has removed the complex patchwork habitats hares require for feeding and shelter. Hare coursing - setting dogs to chase hares for sport - causes fear, exhaustion, and often direct injury and death. Despite its 2004 ban, organised hare coursing continues illegally and is linked to broader rural crime. Legal shooting also raises questions: unlike pheasants, hares are not formally classed as game in law, meaning bag sizes and season lengths are poorly regulated. Conservation efforts focusing on agri-environment scheme uptake, habitat management, and anti-coursing enforcement will be essential to halt decline.