The brown hare was introduced into Britain during Roman times. Unlike the introduced rabbit, the hare does not use burrows but lives and breeds above ground, living in a small scraped-out hollow known as a 'form'. The does (females) bear up to four litters (more usually two) of two to four leverets (young) each year.

They are born above ground with a full coat of fur. The brown hare lives in well-defined territories on open downland and farmland in the lowlands of Britain. They feed mainly on grass, roots, bark and the produce of farms and gardens and require this diversity of food. The blue or mountain hare is slightly smaller than the Brown Hare and lives in the mountainous areas of Scotland, the Peak District and North Wales. During the winter their coats turn white, camouflaging them against the snow.

Hares have excellent hearing, sight and sense of smell which are required as they have many predators, especially when young, including foxes, stoats, raptors and owls.

Unfortunately, over recent decades, our hare population has declined dramatically, mainly due to modern intensive farming methods. Concern over their numbers has led the brown hare being included on the list of vulerable and rapidly declining species for which a UK Biodiversity Action Plan has been written.

And yet, perversely, there are a minority of people who are still allowed to get their "fun" from hunting and coursing these fascinating creatures. Hares are given some protection under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and under various Game Acts. Although there is no closed for killing hares, the Hares Preservation Act 1892 makes it an offence to sell hares between the months of March and June inclusive. Along with other game species, it is also illegal to kill hares on a Sunday or on Christmas Day.
  

It is hard to believe that this barbaric activity remains legal in modern Britain. Hare coursing is pure "sport" (with a lot of gambling thrown in) for a tiny minority of people who enjoy watching animals suffer. And there is immense suffering. In hare coursing, two dogs compete in a test of speed and agility in pursuit of a live hare. The terrified hares are made to run for their lives to provide 'entertainment'. When caught, they can end up in a brutal tug-of-war between the jaws of the dogs. The hare will often scream in terror and pain as it is fought over.

The season of bloodshed does not end until after the first litters are born. Hares may be heavily pregnant or nursing when coursed or hunted and the leverets will die if their mother is killed. There are reports of pregnant hares collapsing on the field before the dogs are even released.

Hare Coursing facts:

• Hare are driven or released on to the coursing field. The dogs are then released and soon catch up with the hare (unlike hare hunting, coursing dogs are quicker than the hare). The agile hare is forced to twist and turn as it seeks to escape with its life.
   
• Points are awarded to the dogs for their skill in turning the hare.
   
• Supporters of coursing say that if the hare is caught it dies instantly, but there are numerous examples on video where captured hares scream in pain and terror, caught between the jaws of the two dogs.
   
• According to the Countryside Alliance one in every five hares coursed is caught by the greyhounds. This figure can change dramatically depending upon ground conditions. Coursing over wet, ploughed land will severely hamper the hare.
   
• Some coursing enthusiasts claim that most hares escape, but this does not excuse the deliberate setting of dogs onto the hare, or any of the deaths which occur purely to provide a test of the dogs' skills. Hares that escape may also be coursed again.
   
• Coursers claim that hares are more abundant on coursing estates than elsewhere - but hares in some areas are netted and transported to coursing estates.
  
• In 1997 the League Against Cruel Sports filmed hares being netted on an estate in East Anglia. One of the people supervising the exercise was David Midwood Chairman of the Waterloo Cup, hare coursing's premier event, which took place two weeks later.
   
• Mr Midwood denied that the hares were destined for the Waterloo Cup, but it has been admitted that hares are caught and transported to restock coursing estates.
   

Population and Management and Control

"There is little or no need to control overall hare numbers and, indeed, they are a Biodiversity Action Plan species. However, the distribution of hares is uneven: they are abundant in some areas, mainly in the east of England, and scarce in much of Wales and the West Country. Hare hunting and coursing are essentially carried out for recreational purposes and have a relatively small direct impact on hare numbers. A ban would therefore have little effect in practice on agriculture or other interests." (5.94)

It goes on to say "Because hare numbers tend to be maintained at high levels in areas where hunting/coursing occurs, the impact of a ban might well be that, in the absence of other changes, the population would decline in those areas. This would partly result from a loss of suitable habitat but also, in a few areas, from the shooting of hares to deter poaching and illegal coursing. However, in comparison with the impact of organised shooting on hare numbers, a ban on hare hunting and coursing would have a negligible effect." (5.95)