Hating on hares

The Hare Preservation Trust group on Face Book has been asking people to sign a petition to protect hares from persecution from gamekeepers on Scottish grouse moors. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) pointed out its not illegal to ‘cull’ hares in Scotland.  Shooting hares is a popular activity amongst blood sport enthusiasts, who can rack up as many as 400,000 dead hares each year.  It's a money spinner too, with a day's shooting costing anything up to a £1000.

The Scottish gamekeepers are shy about the killing of hares and they don’t like being questioned too closely about the activity either. 

When pinned down they prefer to expand on how all animals including hares, benefit from grouse moorland management because of the removal of predators like foxes, weasels, raptors etc. It makes not a jot of difference that Scottish Mountain Hares are reportedly being driven to extinction by gamekeepers, and one of the reasons, apart from the enjoyment of a fun day out shooting, is because they believe that hares carry a tick which can kill grouse. And so the obscene massacre of the gentle hare continues in spite of calls from the Scottish government and animal groups for voluntary restraint.

Back in November 2015 the Wildlife Crime Penalties Review Group (WCPRG) published its findings on how wildlife crime in Scotland is dealt with by the criminal justice system. It was clearly shown that the present system is failing woefully and the punishments do not act as deterrents The WCPRG highlighted ten short and medium term recommendations for the Scottish Government to consider, all of which are supported by the Hare Preservation Trust.  The most significant of these recommendations is a hefty fine increase from the current £5,000 to £40,000.

Environment Minister Dr Aileen McLeod has responded to the report and has accepted the recommendations.

She had this to say, “Wildlife crime has no place in modern Scotland, this is why I have decided to increase the maximum available penalties to bring wildlife offences into line with other environmental crimes. It is important we have appropriate penalties that deter criminality but also reflect the impact these crimes can have on our environment and Scotland’s reputation as a wildlife tourism destination. Work will now begin on bringing together a list of relevant offences this change would apply to.”

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This is brilliant news for Scottish wild animals but it doesn’t really address the plight of the hares which are legally shot for sporting interests.

Scotland may already have the strongest wildlife legislation in the UK, but unless that legislation makes illegal the insane persecution of mountain hares, we may be faced with a decline in hare numbers bordering on extinction.  Dr Macleod is a strong advocate for animals however, and many of those who strive to protect our precious wildlife from suffering were heartened to hear her declare that she is determined to do even more to end the crimes that threaten the survival of some species and inflict cruelty on others. Let us hope that her determination stretches to protection, or at least a closed season, for hares being legally slaughtered on Scottish estates.

It is unsurprising that gamekeepers are disputing the decline in hare numbers with some estates claiming they have never seen as many hares. Ten conservation groups asked in April last year for three-year ban on killing hares to be implemented in order to properly assess the effect on the hare population of such wide spread killing. Again unsurprisingly, the grouse-shooting industry reacted strongly against this with the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association claiming a moratorium on killing hares was “environmentally irresponsible”. (Not sure how they worked that one out) and the Scottish Land & Estates chimed in too claiming the idea was “ill-informed” and “heavy-handed”. With ignorant, self-serving attitudes like these from the blood sport lobby, there is no real hope of any voluntary restraint. But then those who kill for fun don’t have much of a moral compass to begin with. They aren’t too bothered, if at all, about the suffering they inflict when their bullets and pellets start flying.

They hire the gamekeepers to protect the game birds for their canned hunting, and they aren’t fussy about what form that protection might take.  Another silent but deadly killer of huge numbers of hares are wire noose snares. Deadly loops of death which catch all manner of innocent animals from hares to domestic pets. The snares are set for foxes, which are hated by game keepers because the eat grouse.

Snaring is not illegal, although it should be, and two thirds of the animals that die in snares are not the target species. Hares make up a huge proportion of the animals that are caught in snares every week. Often in the breeding season, and the hares that die are pregnant, or even worse they may leave young leverets who will starve to death.
 
Images from IShoot and the Hare Preservation Trusts facebook page

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/11/2196/3