Legislation to protect mountain hares not being ruled out

The Scottish government has not ruled out legislation to protect mountain hares but any changes in law must be evidence based, Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham MSP said.

Ms Cunningham was speaking at a mass lobby at the Scottish Parliament this week by campaigners who want to see an end to culling and hunting of the animal.

The lobby was organised by OneKind, the Scottish animal campaigns charity in support of greater protections for the mountain hare.

Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone also spoke at the event. She said: “The reports we’ve heard of mass culls of mountain hares, and the photos we’ve seen are deeply disturbing. The commercial interests of large sporting estates must not be allowed to trample over the conservation of highly valued wildlife.

“To date the government’s agency, SNH, has been ineffective in challenging applications for culls. The evidence is clear that culling hares does nothing to help the environment; it’s simply about an industry trying to maximise profits.”

“Despite legal provisions that give the species conservation status, hare are regularly culled or commercially hunted in Scotland, even within our national parks.”

She added: “As this persecution is not licensed and is carried out with no regulatory oversight it is impossible to know how many are killed. The only estimate is that 25,000 were killed in 2006/7, which is thought to be between 5-14 per cent of the total population.

“As well having a potentially significant impact on their population, there are serious welfare concerns because of the scale and nature of the killing.”