Highland FEUD
On 17 June, with the entire country in lockdown, Scottish Parliament made a pivotal decision: to ban the unlicensed culling of mountain hares, affording them year-round protection.
In the hours that followed, Twitter was ablaze. For some, the decision was reason to celebrate – a landmark victory for the conservation of an iconic animal. Others condemned the move, arguing that, ironically, protective status would be detrimental to mountain hares and their wider environment.
The mountain hare is one of our most charismatic species, famed for its winter transformation from grey-brown to stark white. But it is also embroiled in the bitter controversy over the management of our uplands – a conflict that has raged for decades. The debate over whether mountain hares should be controlled by certain interests – namely, driven grouse shooting – has slowly gained momentum, with various arguments on both sides and vastly contrasting evidence from a diversity of sources.
The amendment to the Scottish Animals and Wildlife Bill comes at a time when the heat being placed on driven grouse shooting is particularly fierce. The industry – both in Scotland and England – has come under fire for its intensive management practices, and the mountain hare debate is entangled with a host of other issues.
