From March 1, 2021 it will be illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take Mountain Hares at any times unless a licence is obtained. Hare must not be on the menu in restaurants during this period. We urge the Government to amend legislation to provide an equivalent level of protection for mountain hares in England & Wales to that conferred on more abundant Scottish mountain hares. The Hare Preservation Act 1892 gives limited protection by forbidding the sale of adults or leverets during the main breeding season - between 1 March and 31 July. The Brown Hare is larger than the Rabbit, with longer legs and longer ears with black tips. Hares are now a threatened species in the UK, with numbers in decline. The legislation only applies to British hares – imported hares are exempt. The population of brown hare in the UK was around four million in 1880 and is estimated to be about 800,000 now. "We recommend mountain hares be classified as protected rather than game," a spokesman said. The closed season for brown hare is 1 February - 30 September. They can be seen bounding across fields using their powerful hind legs to propel them forwards, often in a zigzag pattern. Hares do have a measure of protection through the Hares Preservation Act 1892 which prohibits the sale of hares or leverets between 1 March and 31 July. National Farmers’ Union chief land management adviser Sam Durham said: “Brown hares are an important and much-valued component of … Gamekeepers on grouse moors will no longer be able to carry out mass culls, thought to be responsible for up to 25,000 deaths each year. Britain needs to protect its threatened wildlife, not allow species to disappear. He said climate change and a loss of habitat in … Brown hare population. We the undersigned ask that you update the legislation protecting brown hares, which dates from 1892. For rarer mountain hares, the UK's only native rabbit or hare species, a complete ban on all shooting will be brought in for England. In Scotland it will now be an offence to kill mountain hares without a licence. The fact they have almost no protection, including no close season in England, doesn't help. The conservation status of UK mountain hares, a native species, is currently unfavourable. Brown Hares. The Scottish Parliament yesterday voted to give mountain hares special protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. The hare population in the UK is stable. In every way possible – from ignoring public disquiet and requests for restraint to openly posing with hare corpses – the shooting industry has brought around this restriction on shooting Mountain Hares on grouse moors themselves (though as Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for the Lothian region, who has led on protecting these animals, notes below the protection won’t begin until March … Brown hares are a quarry species which may be legally controlled during the open season, but is protected in the closed season under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). Mountain Hare, which are more abundant in Scotland are now protected, as from March 1 st 2021, under the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020 in Scotland. Hare shooting still occurs in areas where hares are common and where farms want to reduce crop damage. Wildlife protected by the Hunting Act: Hares Hare Facts Hares are a golden-brown colour, with a pale belly and a white tail. 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