Public’s help sought to solve mystery of region’s dying hares

Anyone who finds a dead hare is asked to photograph and e-mail it to Dr Diana Bell at the University of East Anglia Picture: FRANCES CRICKMORE (Image: (c) copyright citizenside.com)

Members of the public are being asked to help discover the cause of mysterious hare deaths in the region.

Over the past month, a number of people have been in contact with both Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts to report sightings of obviously sick and dead hares.

Now the Trusts are asking anyone seeing a freshly dead hare to record its location, photograph the entire animal – especially around the head and bottom – and send the information to Dr Diana Bell at the University of East Anglia.

Dr Bell has recently been studying the impacts of diseases on rabbit populations, including myxomatosis and strains of hemorrhagic disease.

While East Anglia is a stronghold for the hare, nationwide its population has plummeted 80% over the last century Picture: FRANCES CRICKMORE (Image: Archant)

Dr Bell said: “Both Suffolk Wildlife Trust and I have been told about hares that have been found either dying or already dead at different sites around the county.

“The death of any animal is obviously distressing but we’re asking people to try and photograph these hares to help us understand what is happening.

“Getting good images of the bodies of these hares, along with their exact location, is crucial for us to rule out or identify possible diseases.”

East Anglia is a stronghold for brown hare, which have experienced a national decline of more than 80% in the past 100 years and are almost entirely absent from the south west of the country.

Intensive farming practices and illegal hare coursing are believed to be two reasons why hare numbesr have decreased so dramatically (Image: (c) copyright newzulu.com)

One of the issues facing the species is an intensification of agriculture, which has limited their supply of food and habitat.

There is also no closed season for hares, which means that they can be shot legally at any time of the year – including during breeding season. Illegal hare coursing is also still prevalent.

Head of Conservation at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Ben McFarland, said: “The reports of hare deaths are obviously of great concern, especially considering the importance of the populations in this region. We are monitoring all sites closely.”

If you find a sick or dead hare - send a photograph (including its head and bottom) to Dr Diana Bell by emailing d.bell@uea.ac.uk