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Conservation Considerations for a Management Measure: An Integrated Approach to Hare Rearing and Release

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Abstract

Wildlife managers are challenged with the task of deciding whether a management measure is appropriate or not, and furthermore they have to convince others about the merits of their decision. Population decline of some hare species (genus Lepus) has resulted in their Red Listing and conservation measures are being undertaken. Release or restocking is a frequent measure in some countries, and thousands of hares are released annually, mainly for hunting purposes. These hares can be obtained by either intensive or extensive rearing or translocation of the wild animals. Each method entails difficulties and different survival rates in the wild. Survival rates in the wild are low for hares intensively reared in cages but are higher for hares reared extensively in enclosures and wild translocated hares. The benefits of the hare release practice are significantly lower than the action’s implementation cost. Hare releases have not increased significantly the wild hare population or the hunting harvest in areas where the practice has been applied. The risk of genetic and evolutionary degradation and pathogen transmission is possible in wild populations. The need for wise management of this practice is evident and the term ‘Permitted Transferring Units’ should be introduced to denote regions where hares should not be transferred for rearing and release.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (2007–2013) under Grant agreement no. 222633 (WildTech).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece

    Christos Sokos, Alexios Giannakopoulos & Charalambos Billinis

  2. Department of Biomedicine, Institute for Research and Technology of Thessaly, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Larissa, Greece

    Christos Sokos & Charalambos Billinis

  3. Research Division, Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, Ethnikis Antistasis 173-175, 55134, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Christos Sokos, Periklis Birtsas & Konstantinos G. Papaspyropoulos

  4. Wildlife Laboratory, Department of Forestry and Management of Natural Environment, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece

    Periklis Birtsas

  5. Laboratory of Forest Economics, Faculty of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Konstantinos G. Papaspyropoulos

  6. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece

    Labrini V. Athanasiou

  7. Department of Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece

    Katerina Manolakou

  8. Department of Animal Production, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece

    Vassiliki Spyrou

Authors
  1. Christos Sokos
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  2. Periklis Birtsas
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  3. Konstantinos G. Papaspyropoulos
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  4. Alexios Giannakopoulos
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  5. Labrini V. Athanasiou
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  6. Katerina Manolakou
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  7. Vassiliki Spyrou
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  8. Charalambos Billinis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charalambos Billinis.

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Sokos, C., Birtsas, P., Papaspyropoulos, K.G. et al. Conservation Considerations for a Management Measure: An Integrated Approach to Hare Rearing and Release. Environmental Management 55, 19–30 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0388-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0388-6

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