Baroness Helic (Conservative) introduced her private member’s bill, the Hares (Close Season) Bill [HL], in the House of Lords on 28 November 2024.
The bill would make it an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any hare during the close season, which would run from 1 February to 30 September each year. A person found guilty of this offence would be liable for up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. The bill would include several exemptions from the offence. It would also repeal the Hares Preservation Act 1892.
Currently, in England and Wales there is no close season where it is prohibited to kill hares. However, close seasons are currently in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has published a voluntary code of practice which advises against the killing of brown hares between 1 March to 31 July unless they are causing serious crop damage.
Estimates of the number of hares in the UK vary with challenges in accurately counting their number. There has also been disagreement about whether brown hare populations are increasing. The British Trust for Ornithology has reported an increase in recent years, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Hare Preservation Trust have reported declines. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation has said that numbers have remained relatively stable since the 1990s.
