Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation and outcomes of statutory close seasons for hares in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and whether they intend to align the level of protection for hares in England with those in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have indeed already introduced close seasons for their populations of hare. Whilst the UK Government has made no formal assessment of these measures, we will consider lessons from the experience in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, wildlife management is a devolved activity and the precise nature of any changes in England will be considered on their own merit.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards the introduction of a statutory close season for hares in England; whether they have identified a legislative vehicle for that purpose; and when they intend to bring forward that legislation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A statutory close season for hares is consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Defra Ministers support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England.
However, the Government needs a suitable primary legislative vehicle in place to deliver this change. While I cannot therefore offer a timeframe for bringing this legislative change forward, Defra will do its utmost to identify suitable opportunities to enable the Government to introduce a close season for hares in England.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing interim measures to protect hares during their breeding season pending the introduction of a statutory close season.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not considered any interim legislative measures to protect hares during their breeding season pending the introduction of a statutory close season. However, it is reasonable to assume that changes to hare coursing legislation, brought in under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, along with improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing as well as the use of community protection notices (CPN) and criminal behaviour orders (CBO), has had an effect in terms of reducing levels of hare coursing in recent years, both within the hares’ breeding season and outside it. We are also committed to delivering our legally-binding biodiversity targets on species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration. This is helping to drive forward action to improve habitat such as open grassland which brown hares rely on to flourish.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for introducing legislation to introduce a close season for hares in England, following the publication of DEFRA’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021; and what plans they have for a consultation with stakeholders in that regard.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only, with the potential for relevant policy to extend and apply to Wales.
The Government has no immediate plans to legislate to introduce a close season for hares in England. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021 made a commitment to consider such legislation and it remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
The Government therefore has no current plans to formally consult with stakeholders on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for introducing legislation to introduce a closed season for hares in England, following the publication of DEFRA’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021; and what consultations they have had with stakeholders in that regard.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government has no current plans to legislate to introduce a close season for hares in England. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021 made a commitment to consider such legislation and it remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
The Government has had no formal consultations with stakeholders on this issue since the publication of the Action Plan for Animal Welfare but we have heard representations from interested parties, both in support of and opposed to a close season for hares.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 12 July 2023 (HL9069), which stated that “Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option”, what indicators they are using to assess the necessity of this option, and how frequently they review it.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The proposal to introduce a close season for the brown hare, referred to in HL9069, was set out in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare. In terms of the necessity of a close season from a wildlife conservation perspective, the brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation and restoration and improved connectivity but this will be supplemented where appropriate by intelligence on individual species. While there are no immediate plans to undertake a national mammal population review as was conducted in 2018, we should get an idea of trends in our brown hare population from published surveys, for example from the British Trust for Ornithology’s mammal recording, which it has been conducting since 1995 with a view to helping improve our knowledge of the distribution and population trends of some of our commoner mammals.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the links between hare coursing and organised crime, and what assessment they have made of the economic impact of hare coursing and poaching.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government recognises the impact which hare coursing has on rural communities. The Government has considered evidence from a wide range of stakeholders and the police on the problems caused by hare coursing, including with organised crime.
That is why we have introduced new measures to strengthen law enforcement and increase the powers of the courts through the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act. They have been widely welcomed. The new offences and higher penalties introduced by the Act are all being used and imposed by the courts.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction of a closed season for hunting activities to coincide with the breeding and rearing of brown hares; if so, what progress they have made in this work; and if not, what alternative measures or strategies they assess would be needed to address the impact of hunting practices on dependent young hares.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
In May 2021, a commitment was included within the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare to consider legislation to introduce a close season for brown hares in England. It was considered that a close season, prohibiting the killing of hares during their breeding season, would be likely to reduce the number of leverets (young hares) left motherless, giving them a better chance of survival. This is consistent with Natural England’s advice on wildlife management, which is to avoid controlling species in their peak breeding season unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
In the absence of a close season, the Government has taken other forms of action which should have beneficial effects for our brown hares. Last year we introduced new measures to strengthen law enforcement and increase the powers of the courts through the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act to clamp down on the scourge of hare coursing. They have been widely welcomed. The new offences and higher penalties introduced by the Act are all being used and imposed by the courts. Further to this, brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation, restoration and improved connectivity. Our legally binding target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat is already driving action on this front, including for habitat on which hares rely to flourish, such as open grassland.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessments they have undertaken in the last 20 years of the impact of hunting practices on the orphaning of brown hare leverets in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
In May 2021, a commitment was included within the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare to consider legislation to introduce a close season for brown hares in England. It was considered that a close season, prohibiting the killing of hares during their breeding season, would be likely to reduce the number of leverets (young hares) left motherless, giving them a better chance of survival. This is consistent with Natural England’s advice on wildlife management, which is to avoid controlling species in their peak breeding season unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
In the absence of a close season, the Government has taken other forms of action which should have beneficial effects for our brown hares. Last year we introduced new measures to strengthen law enforcement and increase the powers of the courts through the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act to clamp down on the scourge of hare coursing. They have been widely welcomed. The new offences and higher penalties introduced by the Act are all being used and imposed by the courts. Further to this, brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation, restoration and improved connectivity. Our legally binding target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat is already driving action on this front, including for habitat on which hares rely to flourish, such as open grassland.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to (1) address the issue of orphaning in the brown hare population, and (2) protect dependent young hares.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
In May 2021, a commitment was included within the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare to consider legislation to introduce a close season for brown hares in England. It was considered that a close season, prohibiting the killing of hares during their breeding season, would be likely to reduce the number of leverets (young hares) left motherless, giving them a better chance of survival. This is consistent with Natural England’s advice on wildlife management, which is to avoid controlling species in their peak breeding season unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
In the absence of a close season, the Government has taken other forms of action which should have beneficial effects for our brown hares. Last year we introduced new measures to strengthen law enforcement and increase the powers of the courts through the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act to clamp down on the scourge of hare coursing. They have been widely welcomed. The new offences and higher penalties introduced by the Act are all being used and imposed by the courts. Further to this, brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation, restoration and improved connectivity. Our legally binding target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat is already driving action on this front, including for habitat on which hares rely to flourish, such as open grassland.