Hares and crop damage, does it happen?

[Wheat]

I was surprised to read this article from the GWCT that states the reason they are not supportive of a closed season for shooting hares is that farmers need to shoot hares to protect their crops from damage, and a closed season would force shooting of hares into the winter months before actual crop damage can be assessed.

Close season would be 'bleak prospect' for brown hares - Our letter in The Telegraph - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

www.gwct.org.uk

I don't disagree with the logic of the statement, or of the control of animals causing extensive crops damage. What surprised me was the statement that farmers are shooting hares to protect crops. I have never heard of a farmer who has suffered such great crop damage by hares that they needed to shoot them. Hedge and tree damage is common, and deer often get the blame for what is hare damage. And we all know how much damage a fit population of rabbits can do, but hares?

So I thought I come on here and to hopefully be enlighten and hear about hares damaging crops, if any has any experience of it?

Oh, and I've just noticed the poll option, so I'll add that for those too lazy/busy/cba to type an answer.

 

[wanton dwarf]

Hares are territorial, so you don't tend to get enough in any area to do significant damage.

Moorhens on the other hand ...

 

[stroller]

Can you have an option " Used to have hares, the badgers ate them"

 

[farmerm]

I know some who have had to resort to shooting hares to protect their crops... sadly they accept negligible crop damage is caused by modest hares populations but have to try reduce the damage that comes from the actions of a dawg loving species that hares attract!

 

[melted welly]

I can find half dozen hares in some fields and you wouldn’t know they’re there, they like to raise the leverets in the carrot fields too, I’ve never thought of them anything like a problem.

beautiful creatures.

Buzzards and traffic keep the population under control round here.

 

[Goweresque]

I know some who have had to resort to shooting hares to protect their crops... sadly they accept negligible crop damage is caused by modest hares populations but have to try reduce the damage that comes from the actions of a dawg loving species that hares attract!

Perhaps in return for a closed season on hares we could get an open season on trespassers as a quid pro quo?

 

[nick...]

Seen loads of them here in last couple of days when spreading fertiliser yesterday and fencing today.saw 5 in a group this morning.unfortuantly we have more deer.had 5 roe in mums garden yesterday morning,8 red stags on meadows and another 5 roe beside a wood.and the muntjac run about like rabbits
nick...

 

[Gav]

Unfortunately we’ve had to take action with the hare population at our market garden, last year they destroyed our runner bean crop twice, wiped out our dwarf beans completely and destroyed 100’s of brassica plants. We gave them every chance but they kept getting on the wrong side of the electric fence. We have no intention of eradicating them but just done a bit of population control.

 

[Chris16]

We have quit a few hares in certain fields, never been any bother and we really like seeing them, badgers are definitely a threat to them, the fields we spot badgers in regular do not have hares!

 

[Wheat]

Unfortunately we’ve had to take action with the hare population at our market garden, last year they destroyed our runner bean crop twice, wiped out our dwarf beans completely and destroyed 100’s of brassica plants. We gave them every chance but they kept getting on the wrong side of the electric fence. We have no intention of eradicating them but just done a bit of population control.

interesting point, didn't consider market gardens. We've used rabbit netting with good effect against hares in new woodland, would that work for you?

 

[Bald Rick]

Anyone who shoots hares needs to give their head a wobble.

Just my opinion of course

 

[grainboy]

A few yrs back, on my 115 acres, couldn’t work out why corn wasn’t growing, till I went out at night, packs of 40 to 50 of Hares,
As was tenant, on shooting estate, asked permission to reduce numbers.
Needless to say, a significant reduction saved to be crop,

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Don't forget there is a huge disparity in hare population in England & Wales. Typically very scarce in the West, very abundant in the East.

Not uncommon to see ten brace in each field in Lincs during boxing season. Also can be almost locally extinct in patches though, thanks to our friends in the travelling community.

 

[yellow belly]

see very little crop damage even will high numbers
have plenty of hares here
more since we grow cover crops on spring ground and leave a long stubble and have a notill system
this allows the leverages to have more cover in the spring
when they are first born they can be easy prey for the buzzards if the fields are bare cultivated spring crops

the other time hares suffer badly is in the autumn when winter crops are planted later and bigg areas are cultivated brown desert
no till always has cover and spring land has early planted cover growing by early September

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Hares are territorial, so you don't tend to get enough in any area to do significant damage.

Moorhens on the other hand ...

Used to have Moorhens, the Mink and Badgers ate them!

 

[DieselRob]

We have to control the hare population around here to remove the temptation from the unwanted lurcher brigade. The hares don’t cause a massive amount of crop damage but that would get worse if we let the population grow I suppose

 

[Exfarmer]

A few yrs back, on my 115 acres, couldn’t work out why corn wasn’t growing, till I went out at night, packs of 40 to 50 of Hares,
As was tenant, on shooting estate, asked permission to reduce numbers.
Needless to say, a significant reduction saved to be crop,

Remember 50 years ago shoots near you taking over 400 in a day

 

[Gav]

interesting point, didn't consider market gardens. We've used rabbit netting with good effect against hares in new woodland, would that work for you?

We did put up rabbit netting but they kept getting through it so we had to thin out the numbers.

shooting hares was something neither of us wanted to do but unfortunately when it’s severely impacting our finances we had to. 1500 brassica plants getting destroyed in 3 nights was the final straw.

 

[Wheat]

We did put up rabbit netting but they kept getting through it so we had to thin out the numbers.

shooting hares was something neither of us wanted to do but unfortunately when it’s severely impacting our finances we had to. 1500 brassica plants getting destroyed in 3 nights was the final straw.

Completely understand, you have to protect your income. Thanks for replying to the thread, I couldn’t get my head round how they could damage crops but I was focused on large field low value crops. Of course high value crops like yours tend to be grown in a more concentrated area and a small bit of damage can be devastating.

 

[Wheat]

A few yrs back, on my 115 acres, couldn’t work out why corn wasn’t growing, till I went out at night, packs of 40 to 50 of Hares,
As was tenant, on shooting estate, asked permission to reduce numbers.
Needless to say, a significant reduction saved to be crop,

that’s a lot of hares! Keepers no doubt helping by removing predators?