The Hare , Your Opinion??

[Craig Fosse 286]

Hey guys

 

Bit of an interesting one,I don't know if any of you have watched it recently but I have been watching Britains Wildlife Revival on BBC1 the past few weeks, this week there was one about the hare and what conservation groups are doing to try and keep their numbers up. Apparently in the last (can't remember how many years they said) but hare numbers are down by %....

 

They made a very very good argument, what do you lot think?, I shoot for food, but only the species that are troubling my farmer or the permission owners.

 

I learned quite a bit about the Hare and if any of you don't know the difference between a rabbit and one(besides the obvious look features) its well worth a look. I for one didnt know they didnt burrow but except live in thick grass or crops (hence one of the reasons their numbers are down)

 

As like anyone I don't believe they should be taken off the shooting list due to the fact they are a rabbit at heart and destroy crops, but maybe a season so that they can breed to get their numbers up.

 

What you reakon??

[paulus 26]

they are already classed as game in Southern ireland and so are afforded a closed season, the same should be done in the whole of the UK in my opinion

[Craig Fosse 286]

Yer that's where abouts I'm at, be interesting if it gets instilled

[charlie caller 3,654]

I have a farm near me that is stuffed with them, I have not shot a hare for years (just a personal choice, I have no problem with anyone who shoots them) to me its a quarry for a hawk or a dog,and a worthy one at that, I would not have a problem with a closed season for them, and I am surprised there has never been one,I don't think the decline in numbers is altogether down to farming practice, I think it is just part of the ebb and flow of nature, for instance look at sparrows or starlings, you don't see the numbers anything like when I was a kid, we used to shoot them with the air rifles to feed the ferrets as many did then, and if you threw some bread out on the lawn, in 5 minutes it would be covered in them, but not now, always an interesting point to throw at antis is the amount of abundant hares at Altcar where the waterloo cup was run,the reason for the high numbers is simple the ground was managed well and the hares thrived, as for rabbit numbers well I cant work out whats happening, I have some permissions heaving with them and some that used to hold good numbers, barren, interesting to note that the land with high numbers tend to be the places with the lowest badger numbers

[reaper1064 285]

Depends on the permission, if the land owner wants them gone then it's up to you how much you value that permission.

[paulus 26]

Depends on the permission, if the land owner wants them gone then it's up to you how much you value that permission.

its a poor countryman who wants anything as fine as hares gone, controlled yes when necessary, but eradicated.............no, if you "gone" everything then there would be no need to give you permission

[charlie caller 3,654]

Could not agree more Paulus, spot on and that goes for everything, except possibly rats.

[paulus 26]

Could not agree more Paulus, spot on and that goes for everything, except possibly rats.

you can never kill enough rats even if you spent your whole lifetime at it you would wouldnt have even made a dent in their population

[Craig Fosse 286]

That's a good point Charlie about the starlings etc etc, maybe nature has just evolved and the hares are being caught out, they are very much a top ground living animal which I didn't realise!, I must admit I have never shot one, but then have never needed to.

[reaper1064 285]

I agree with what your saying but last year one of my permissions had hares and basically was told to treat them like the rabbits. That one is a commercial plant nursery, I have hares on the paddocks I shoot and they are left alone. Plus I am given my given my shoots to get rid of a problem not control it. In the past one of my land owners saw me leave a kit alone and basically said if I can't do the job then he would get someone who could. The nursery owner is a business man not a countryman.

[Craig Fosse 286]

Reaper I totally understand mate, Unfortunatly we are here to do a job, and that is ultimately what you are there to do! I'm not trying to wrap awoken blanket round ares and say they shouldn't be shot, I just hope if the numbers are as bad as what I have understood then I hope something is done,

 

At the end of the day of the grey squirrel numbers dropped so much then I'm sure people would feel the same, it's their numbers and what they do which is a problem, I have the priverledge of being In Jersey where we have red squirrel and their natures are the same although the greys have better suggestion and are alot bigger.

[Lewis Ste 245]

One permission owner tells me I'm not allowed to shoot them and one hasn't said ,but I only hold the vermin rights and I don't class them as vermin. Saying that, iv shot them before but I'd rather not now.

 

Lets hope the dog lads don't get wind of this topic

 

Atb

[paulus 26]

I agree with what your saying but last year one of my permissions had hares and basically was told to treat them like the rabbits. That one is a commercial plant nursery, I have hares on the paddocks I shoot and they are left alone. Plus I am given my given my shoots to get rid of a problem not control it. In the past one of my land owners saw me leave a kit alone and basically said if I can't do the job then he would get someone who could. The nursery owner is a business man not a countryman.

a businessman would soon realise the most cost effective method of eradicating hare and rabbit damage is exclusion fencing and electric fences.

[Craig Fosse 286]

I don't want anyone to be annoyed with this topic, the dog lads are more than welcome to an opinion, just intrigued me as I didn't know the numbers if true were so low

[stealthy1 3,964]

A lot of land owners do that on my permissions with the fences, and the garden centres I look after, lasts as long as it takes badgers to rip holes in it, some places have herds of hares, and some don't, the ones that do get thinned, the ones that don't get left

 

Edited to say, is there anyone who wouldn't poke the blond presenter?