Farmers Invited To A Hare Raising Experience

A series of regional autumn workshops aimed at farmers and estates managers should help to make the future brighter for the declining brown hare population.

Records kept by The Game Conservancy Trust show that the brown hare was very abundant around the turn of the century, but post-War it suffered a significant decline (more that 75%) with numbers now estimated to be in the regional of 800,00 in winter months.

The regional workshops being organised this autumn form part of a national initiative being run by The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Biffa Waste Services, The Game Conservancy Trust, The Mammal Society, and Middlemarch Environmental Ltd.

Bernie Higgins, the new Brown Hare Officer co-ordinating the project said: "We are very keen to get as many farmers as possible to these workshops so that we can explain how the Government's new Entry Level Scheme will not only benefit farmers but will also encourage the creation of habitats that are particularly suited to hares. We will also explain how farmers can participate in a very simple, but important monitoring scheme, which will help us to accurately assess the current hare population. At each venue we will have specialist advisors from Defra discussing the new Entry Level Scheme and Higher Level Scheme, as well as representatives from the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), The Game Conservancy Trust and local wildlife trusts."

The workshops will be held at the following locations:

County Date Venue

ESSEX Sept 23 Enterprise House, Stansted Airport

CLEVELAND Sept 28 Kirkleatham Almshouses, Redcar

CHESHIRE Sept 30 Risley Landfill Site, Moss Side Farm, Warrington, WARWICKS Oct 03, Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, Coventry, WILTSHIRE Oct 10 The Blackthorn Centre, Nr. Cricklade, KENT Oct 12 The Fenn Bell Pub, St Mary's Hoo, Nr Rochester.

Further autumn workshops will also be held in Yorkshire.

For further details on the workshops, which include refreshments, please contact: Bernie Higgins, Brown Hare Officer, Telephone: 01676 525 880 or email: Bernie.higgins@wkwt.org.uk