Mountain hares are beautiful little creatures that live in mountainous regions. One of the places they are native to is Scotland. They camouflage into the mountains with their color-changing coat that goes from brown to white in the winter. These precious animals are sadly killed by the tens of thousands every year in Scotland. They […]
Tag: mountain hare
POLL: Should the shooting of hares in breeding season be banned?
The nation’s deep affection for the hare, once a common sight in fields, is recorded in prose, pub names and poetry. Writers including Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and Ted Hughes have paid tribute to the UK’s fastest land mammal, while any English county will boast at least one pub with the word hare in its name. […]
Scotland’s mountain hare population is at just 1% of 1950’s level
Culling by grouse moor managers is being blamed for the drastic decline of mountain hares on eastern Scottish moorlands to less than 1% of the level recorded more than 60 years ago. A long-term study by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the RSPB analysed counts of the animals on moorland managed for red […]
Speyside
Mrs D and I have just returned home from a week in the Scottish highlands joining up with son Dan and his good wife Mary and their two young children Martha and Theo. We were based in Nethybridge which is in easy reach of all the wildlife hotspots. Although more of a family holiday I […]
Birding Highlights of 2017
The birding wasn’t bad with ten lifers eventually plucked out following a very slow start. January saw Pine Bunting added and then the next tick didn’t come along until 11th June when the Elegant Tern was found down at Church Norton. In July I manged to get on the Marsh Sandpiper at Cliffe Pools in […]
POLL: Should the culling of Scotland’s mountain hares be banned?
Unregulated culling of Scotland’s mountain hares should be banned and the species protected, according to a report that says shooting the animals for sport is inhumane and uncontrolled. Landowners can shoot the hares without a licence from August to February and claim culls are necessary to protect game, especially red grouse, from disease. Campaigners say […]