Brown Hare
As Britain’s greatest athlete the brown hare is perhaps the most sporting quarry that a running dog can pursue.
This species is nationally widespread and in certain localised areas they can be found in plague proportions.
The brown hare often wiles away the daytime hours catnapping in a “seat” it has made in long grass or dug out in amongst the arable fields. What many fail to realise is that the hare is equally at home in the woodlands as it is in the fields. I have flushed a large amount from deep in the brambles or disturbed them from their resting places at the bottom of large oak trees. Depending on the ground cover and the terrain hares are pretty easy to flush, when mooching over moorland and very rough terrain we always find it best to let the dog simply work itself, but when coursing on flat arable we keep the dogs on slips, only slipping on the hare we want to run.
The hare is a superb quarry; their speed and stamina are phenomenal. I have seen many hares outrun running dogs, and they must be given the respect they deserve. Hares do not have a close season as such, but should be left over the summer months whilst breeding. The more I hunt hares, the more I admire them, and I am sure you will too.
