BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-09)

54 BBC Wildlife September 2020

GROUSE MOORS

yet the routine culling of hares has been

widely undertaken until now.

Are mountain hares in trouble?

The short answer is, it would appear so.

The long answer is, it’s complicated. In

2019, mountain hares were downgraded

from ‘favourable’ to ‘unfavourable,

inadequate’ conservation status in the UK.

This means that, though exact numbers

are difficult to ascertain, the available data

demonstrates a decline in hare numbers

across their range. For example, a 2018

study by Massimino et al analysed data

from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS),

finding severe declines of up to 50 per

cent in about one-third of

the hare’s full range. The

much-famed Watson and

Wilson paper, from the

same year, deduced from 70

years of data that declines

in the eastern Highlands

were as extensive as 99 per cent. This paper

is interesting for another reason, which

we shall come to later. However, shooting

interests counter that the National Gamebag

Census (NGC) – which has been returning

numbers of hares shot since 1961 – shows

no significant decline.

Though some evidence exists, a

major problem is that no mandatory,

comprehensive monitoring

of mountain hares exists.

Records like the BBS

and NGC are voluntary.

The latter only concerns

participating estates and,

it could be argued, is more

a reflection of shooting

effort rather than actual

numbers. The Watson and

Wilson paper only looks at

one region in the species’

distribution, and the

authors themselves caution

against extrapolating

the data. Furthermore, a

standardised method for

monitoring hares only

became available in 2018,

in work commissioned by

Scottish Natural Heritage

and led by ecologist Scott Newey.

These points are used to back-up the

argument that we simply don’t know

enough to enforce a ban on routine culling.

But, at the same time, the available evidence

suggests populations are in decline – and

the fact that we don’t know enough should

ring alarm bells for anyone concerned for

mountain hare conservation. Ecologists and

Will these hares bounce

back following the

ban on unlicenced

culling? Below: conifer

plantations may aect

the species’ numbers.

“Driven grouse shooting

evolved at a time when

societal values were very

dierent. I recognise that

sport shooting remains

at the cultural heart of

some rural communities,

but our priorities as a

society have shifted

enormously. At a time of

climate breakdown,

global nature loss and

economic decline,

dedicating such huge

areas to a relatively

minor interest group, is

a missed opportunity

for climate, nature

and people.”

PeterCairns

POINTS OF VIEW

DirectorofScotland:The

Big Picture