GWCT science praised in brown hare House of Commons motion

A motion was presented in the House of Commons by Sir John Randall last week calling for a close season in the hunting of the brown hare.

Initially a complete ban on any killing was going to be proposed by Sir John, but having listened to the scientific evidence presented by experts including our Director of Policy Alastair Leake, Sir John agreed that an extension of 1 February to 31 August to our brown hare code (below) would be the best course of action:

“From 1 March to 31 July hares should only be killed if they are…causing serious crop damage (as opposed to them being a potential source of risk). Not shooting at this time prevents the orphaning of dependent young during the hare’s main breeding season.”

Sir John praised our brown hare research, describing it as "extremely thorough" and highlighted the "impressive statistics" gleaned from our work at the Allerton Project farm.

The motion was read for the first time on 18th March and will be read a second time on Friday 6th June.