Understanding Hare Conservation: Seasons, Populations, and Responsible Management

As suppliers of wild British game, we're often asked about hare availability – particularly why it cannot be purchased at all, even frozen, between March and July. We also understand that hare can be one of our more controversial products, with customers sometimes expressing concerns about population sustainability.

photograph © Mike Lane, Glorious Game published by Face Publications 

This blog aims to provide clear, factual information about hare conservation, current legislation, and why responsible seasonal management actually supports healthy populations. Understanding these factors helps explain both our availability periods and our commitment to sustainable sourcing.

Current Legal Protections

The fundamental rule: Hare has legal protection during breeding season through the Hares Preservation Act of 1892, which makes it illegal to sell hares between March and July inclusive. This prohibition removes any commercial incentive to kill hares during the breeding season – which is exactly why we cannot offer hare, even frozen stock, during these months.

A Literary Spotlight on Hare Conservation

The conversation about hare protection has gained renewed attention through Chloe Dalton's compelling book 'Raising Hare' (£18, or £10 on Amazon). This remarkable work, which has been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, tells the story of how a high-flying Whitehall civil servant discovers a leveret and, after saving it from a circling buzzard, becomes utterly captivated while raising it during COVID lockdown.

The author's website (https://www.chloedalton.uk) promotes not only her book but also Baroness Helic's recently introduced Private Members Bill in the House of Lords, which calls for establishing a close season during which the killing or taking of hares would be prohibited.

The Case for a Close Season

The Wild Meat Company supports establishing a close season during the breeding period on welfare grounds. However, it's clear from Baroness Helic's campaign that the proposed ban on killing hares during breeding season would likely be just the beginning of efforts to ban hare shooting altogether.

In March 2025, the Chairman of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) – a charity that has undertaken more research on British hare populations than any other scientific organisation – responded thoughtfully to concerns about declining hare numbers in some regions:

"Like many species, their numbers vary from place to place. In areas where grassland is the main land use they are scarce because that is not their natural habitat, whereas in much of arable East Anglia they are plentiful, particularly where predation levels are suppressed through fox control."

"However much legal protection they have will not increase their numbers if the right habitat is absent. In some parts their numbers make them a pest and they need to be controlled."

Population Recovery: The Encouraging Data

Recent Increases Show Promise

The GWCT has monitored hare populations for decades and reports that after 30 years of decline, brown hare numbers are showing promising signs of recovery. The Breeding Bird Survey, conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, also surveys mammal species. Their latest report shows that hare numbers have increased in the UK by 40% over the last 10 years (2013-2023).

This increase was most significant in England (50%), with more modest gains in Scotland (17%) and Wales (6%). Over the past 27 years (1996-2023), England saw the greatest increases in the East Midlands (96%), though the West Midlands experienced a 20% decline.

Historical Context: A Century of Change

GWCT analysis of available records reveals fascinating historical patterns:

Early 20th Century: In Edwardian times, hares were approximately twice as common as they were in the early 1990s.

Inter-war Period: Hare numbers plummeted between the world wars during a farming recession when cereal cultivation dropped from three million hectares to under two million. The absence of gamekeepers, who were conscripted to fight, meant little predator control.

Post-War Recovery: With the re-establishment of gamekeeping, hare numbers recovered as their predators were controlled again.

Peak Years: Numbers peaked in 1961, boosted by the absence of rabbits following the Myxomatosis epidemic, which reduced competition for food.

Modern Decline and Recovery: A 30-year decline lasted until the mid-1990s, caused mainly by the abandonment of traditional mixed farming in favour of modern methods.

International Patterns

This UK hare decline mirrored patterns across Europe – Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, and later Poland all experienced similar losses. The decline paralleled the loss of farmland birds, including the grey partridge.

Conservation Action and Results

Following The Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), Britain established a comprehensive Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) in 1995. The brown hare was selected as a priority species, with ambitious goals to double the population by 2010 and maintain its geographic range.

The plan focused on improving agri-environment schemes, reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and better use of set-aside land. The Game Conservancy Trust and the Mammal Society became joint lead partners, producing valuable guidance for farmers and land managers.

Modern Challenges to Hare Survival

Beyond habitat changes, several practical factors affect hare mortality:

Silage Making: Most grassland used by hares for dropping leverets in spring becomes deadly during silage cutting from early May onwards, when grass is harvested for winter livestock feed.

Reduced Gamekeeping: Fewer full-time gamekeepers mean less control of legally manageable predators like foxes, crows, and stoats, increasing leveret mortality.

Protected Predators: As Chloe Dalton observed, the number of leveret predators that cannot be legally controlled – such as buzzards – are increasing due to protection measures.

Disease: European Brown Hare Syndrome (EBHS), a highly contagious viral infection, causes high mortality in some areas within days of infection.

Responsible Management Practices

Where hares can become agricultural pests – particularly in East Anglia where they damage crops and forestry – control measures are carefully timed. Management typically occurs during winter months (January and February) when crops are low and hares are easily visible.

February hare shoots are often organised in high-population areas where crop damage poses serious risks. These shoots normally follow the close of gamebird season after January's end, avoiding the main breeding season and reducing risks to dependent young.

Spring control is avoided and would only occur as a last resort. From March 1st to July 31st, hares would only be culled if causing serious crop damage – which is unusual given that tall crops and undergrowth make both damage and hare visibility difficult.

The existing prohibition on selling hares shot between March and July provides additional deterrence, as no hunter wants game to be wasted when its meat is highly valued.

Conclusion: The Current Model Appears to be Working

The evidence shows that current management practices, including seasonal restrictions and responsible harvesting, are supporting population recovery.

Ready to experience sustainable, wild British hare? Browse our selection of hare available to order during the legal season (1st August - 28th February) and discover why this traditional game meat has sustained British cuisine for centuries.

You can also explore our collection of hare recipes for both traditional and modern cooking methods.