Mountain hares in Scotland are culled on grouse moors to reduce tick burdens on grouse, raising significant welfare and conservation concerns.
Mountain hare culling raises both welfare and ethical concerns. Individual hares subjected to culling face pain and distress, and ineffective shooting leaves wounded animals to die slowly. At the population level, intense culling reduces hare numbers below natural density, disrupting social structures and reducing the species' ecological role. The practice illustrates the tension between game management interests and wildlife welfare and conservation.