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

To ask Her Majesty's Government how the current hare population in the UK compares with the population of hares (1) 5, (2) 10, and (3) 25 years ago.

The UK has brown hare and mountain hare populations. The 2018 Mammal Society report A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals includes estimates for the populations of both. It concluded that the brown hare population in Great Britain is stable, with an estimated population of around 579,000 animals, although acknowledged the population could be between 427,000–1,990,000 animals.

The first National Brown Hare Survey estimated the hare population at around 817,000 in 1991-1993 and a second survey in 1997-1999 estimated the population to be around 750,000. These estimates are within the range of the 2018 estimate but given the different methodologies used it is not possible to make a direct comparison.

In the same Mammal Society review, the mountain hare population in Great Britain was estimated to be around 135,000 animals, although the study acknowledges that the population could be between 81,000–526,000 animals.

Population estimates published in 1995 concluded that there were around 360,000 mountain hares in GB. This is within the range of the 2018 estimate.