Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect hare populations in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The department has supported Surrey County Council to prepare their Local Nature Recovery Strategy, with publication expected shortly. It will set nature recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species such as hares.

Nationally, protection of the brown hare population is provided through hare coursing legislation which was brought in under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Together with improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing, they are reducing levels of hare coursing which will play a part in the recovery of the species.

In addition, the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy contains a commitment to consider the introduction of a close season on shooting brown hares.