Questions over mountain hare declines

A new study, which suggests a dramatic drop in mountain hare numbers, has been questioned by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).

Research carried out by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the RSPB examined hare counts on moorland managed for grouse shooting in the eastern Scottish Highlands over several decades. They found that the mountain hare population decreased by almost five per cent every year between 1954 and 1999 and suggested that numbers have now fallen to just one per cent of those recorded in the 1950s.

The study suggests culling on grouse moors has accelerated these declines and lead author Dr Adam Watson called for action from the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage to help the hares.

However, the GWCT said that data gathered by its researchers over the same period suggests that hare numbers are not in decline on grouse moors, pointing to recent findings showing a robust population.

It instead said that most hare losses are at the edge of their range where heather moorland has been changed to forest and farmland.