Review of the factors affecting the decline of the European brown hare, Lepus europaeus (Pallas, 1778) and the use of wildlife incident data to evaluate the significance of paraquat

Hunting records indicate a decline in the populations of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in the early 1960s. This paper summarises the likely reasons for the population decline. The emphasis on wildlife incident reports and paraquat is in response to the perception that it may present a risk to hares. The possibility for early incidents of European Brown Hare Syndrome (EBHS) being misdiagnosed as paraquat incidents are also considered. The long-term decline in the hare population throughout Europe is widely believed to be due to changes in farmland management practices, resulting in the loss of crop/landscape diversity which affects nutrition. Predation and disease may lead to additional high mortality but probably do not influence the long-term population trend. The decline in the hare population in England, as in Europe, started prior to the widespread introduction of paraquat. Wildlife incident schemes in the UK (WIIS) and France (SAGIR) confirm there have been very few hare deaths caused by paraquat. Research indicates that free living hares are likely to be deterred from foraging paraquat sprayed vegetation after an initial exposure. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.