Hares - our rabbits' wild cousins

The 1892 Hares Preservation Act (still current and supported by DEFRA in view of the 75% further decline in our brown hare population since the 1960s) bans the sale of all British hare and leveret meat (ie raw, cooked or frozen) between March 1st and July 31st. The sellers involved would be butchers, game dealers, farmers markets and restaurants, etc.

Anyone observing a breach of this Act should please request their relevant council Trading Standards Department (in some councils it may be the Environmental Health Department instead) to take action to stop the illegal sales. DEFRA have stated that the police can also enforce the Act: in that case it would be the relevant police force's Wildlife Crime Officer who should be contacted please.

If anyone is unable to obtain the required satisfactory co-operation of either their council or police force then please contact myself, on behalf of the Hare Preservation Trust, with full details of the incident, on johnrim2@hotmail.com Thank you.

If I hear or see anything, I will certainly take the appropriate action.

Jo xx

I didn't know people still ate them Beautiful creatures, I saw one last year on the south downs, for a slipt second, then 2 seconds later it was a hundred miles away!

They come into my village regularly off the fields. Such beautiful creatures.

If you want to keep up with campaigns to save the hare, please subscribe to email newsletters from (or better still, join) the Hare Preservation Trust http://www.hare-preservation-trust.co.uk/

I've passed this information on to my Mum in Essex, where she lives there is quite alot of Hare's, while I was there last week there was one in her garden for over an hour having a good clean of itself and then stretched out for a rest. It was beautiful.
E x

I'm on the border between Sunderland and Durham and happily we have quite a lot...long may that continue.

I wonder whether it's helped by our apparent complete lack of foxes. I've lived in this village, surrounded by farmland, for 14 yrs and am yet to even hear of anybody seeing a fox. They've all moved into the city centres, I think

I saw one about a year ago, and was so thrilled! They are much bigger than I thought they would be.

Are you familiar with Buster's Journey? Buster is a hare who was rescued as a baby by a couple in Ireland and she has become so tame she can't be released. Her blog is here http://busterjourney.blogspot.com/ There are some video clips included.

That is amazing to watch! I cant believe she is blind either. Totally natural behaviour too. I think Am tempted to join HPF now, am already a member of RWAF.

Isn't the way she flies round and round amazing? So different from a rabbit's binkying. Of course they run differntly too, more like dogs.

Yes, the way she just flips about, she's like an acrobat. My Mum used to have a rescued lurcher who's running style was very hare-like!

Am now a fully paid-up member of HPT!!

Me too. It's certainly a worthy cause, saving them and trying to get at the very least a closed season on hunting them.

Wow - how fantastic is Buster. I didnt expect Hares to be so different from buns. Stunningly beautiful!

I've just joined HPT too. I hope it helps.

Katie

Oh Buster's story is incredible I remember watching her vids and reading the blog a few years ago. I will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled. These creatures are stunning

Corrina wrote:Am now a fully paid-up member of HPT!!

Well done Reen x