Countryside Alliance respond to DEFRA's proposal to 'introduce a close season for hares'

The Telegraph has been told by senior Government sources that a closed season for brown hares will be introduced, meaning it cannot be shot between January and August.

Speaking in response to a story, reported in The Telegraph on 17/03/2021, Tim Bonner Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance said:

"This is a largely pointless proposal. There is little if any evidence of hares being culled in large numbers during the breeding season in the UK and examples of closed seasons being introduced in other countries have done nothing to halt the decline of hare populations. What will cause real anger in the countryside, however, is the fact that the Government is willing to make time for this legislation whilst doing little to tackle the epidemic of hare poaching which is having a real and serious effect on hare populations and the lives of farmers. Criminal damage and assaults by hare poachers, who will take no notice of a close season, are daily occurrences in many rural areas yet the Government has not brought forward even simple proposals that would help the police tackle this scourge. Defra's priorities need to address this real rural concern."

More about the very real threat of Hare Poaching can be found here.

The Countryside Alliance and other countryside organisations including the NFU and CLA have, alongside rural Police and Crime Commissioners, repeatedly urged the Government to revise 'inadequate' legislation that is hindering attempts to tackle the devastating impact of illegal hare coursing on the British countryside.

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Defra and the Home Office, the coalition, which includes the NFU, CLA and Countryside Alliance, called for the 1831 Game Act to be amended to give enhanced powers to the police and criminal justice system, including:

• Giving the police and courts full seizure and forfeiture powers for dogs and vehicles
• Removing the existing limits on the penalties that can be imposed, which is currently a maximum £1000 fine.
• Enabling police to recover kennelling costs from offenders