The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP Prime Minister
10 Downing St,
London SW1A 2AA

Chloe Dalton

c/o Peters, Fraser and Dunlop

55 New Oxford Street

London, WC1A 1BS

Monday 9th June 2025

Open Letter:
Protect hares and their young from shooting during the breeding season by urgently establishing a close season in England and Wales

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to urge the government to act to establish a legally enforceable close season for hares in England and Wales, from 1st February to 30th September inclusive. This straightforward and long-overdue measure would help end the killing of pregnant and nursing hares and the starvation of orphaned leverets during the peak breeding season, which is incompatible with basic animal welfare standards set out by Natural England.

Hares are the only game species in England and Wales without statutory protection during their breeding season. All other game animals are afforded a close season. The existing legal framework, based on 19th-century legislation, is out of date, ineffective, and inconsistent with modern principles of wildlife management. England and Wales stand out in Europe for failing to protect hares during this vulnerable period.

At least six attempts have been made by parliamentarians to address this issue over the last two decades. All have failed, not for want of evidence or bipartisan support, but due to a lack of Parliamentary time or decisive government backing.

The case is clear. The peak months for shooting hares, especially February, coincide with the beginning of their breeding season. Most females at this time are pregnant, nursing young, or both. If a nursing female is shot, her dependent young almost certainly die from starvation. This is indefensible.

The existence of wider pressures on hare populations, from changes in land use to climate change, only strengthens the case for action. These challenges make it more important to eliminate avoidable harms where we can.

We therefore urge the government to seize this opportunity and put in place a statutory close season for hares. This would be a meaningful step towards ending cruel practices detrimental to animal welfare, as DEFRA Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP, has pledged to do. It would also help ensure the continued presence in the landscape of a much-loved wild animal that has been part of our natural heritage and culture for millennia.

Yours sincerely,

Chloe Dalton - Author
Sue Alderman – The Hare Preservation Trust
Chris Armstrong – Wildlife Photographer
Graham Bannister – Wildlife Photographer
Stephen Barlow – Conductor
Hector Bateman – Youth Ambassador, Born Free Foundation
Laura Beatty – Author
Sir Antony Beevor FRSL – Historian
The Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle – House of Lords, Green Party
The Baroness Boycott – House of Lords, Crossbench
Hannah Bourne -Taylor – Author/conservationist
Andy Butterworth, BVSc PhD DipECAWBM FLS MRCVS – Veterinarian, Animal Welfare Scientist
Thea Caine – Youth Ambassador, Born Free Foundation
Keggie Carew – Author
Tracy Chevalier FRSL - Author
Ellie Chowns MP – House of Commons, Green Party
Artemis Cooper FRSL – Author
Giles Coren – Author/journalist
The Lord Crathorne KVCO – House of Lords, Conservative
Jonathan Drori CBE – Author
The Earl of Dundee DL – House of Lords, Conservative
Susan Elderkin – Author
The Rt Hon. George Eustice – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2020-22)
The Baroness Fall MBE – House of Lords, Conservative
Maggie Fergusson MBE FRSL – Author
Ruby Free – Author/conservation biologist
Robert Frewen FRICS FAAV – Conservationist
Sir Stephen Fry – Author
Ben Goldsmith – Senior Advisor, Conservative Environment Network
The Rt Hon. the Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park – House of Lords, Conservative The Baroness Goudie – House of Lords, Labour
Patrick Grant FRSA – Author/advocate for sustainability
Margreta de Grazia FRSL – Author

The Rt Hon. the Lord Hague of Richmond – Chancellor of Oxford University Matt Haig – Author
Sarah Hall FRSL – Author
Sarah Hanson – Wildlife Photographer

Angela Harding – Artist
Baroness Helic – House of Lords, Conservative
Reggie Heyworth – The Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
Kat Hill – Author
The Baroness Hodgson of Abinger CBE – House of Lords, Conservative
Tom Holland FRSL FSA – Historian
The Rt Hon Nick Hurd – Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, 2019
The Lord Jay of Ewelme GCMG – House of Lords, Crossbench
Lady Sylvia Jay – High Sherrif of Oxfordshire, 2019-2020
Nancy Jennings – Senior Mammal Specialist, Natural England
Jess Jones – Wildlife photographer
Mark Jones – Born Free Foundation
Ruth Jones MP/AS – House of Commons, Labour
Chief Inspector Kevin-Lacks Kelly – Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit
Dame Lesley Lawson (Twiggy) – Model/actor
Dame Joanna Lumley – Actress/presenter
Chantal Lyons – Author
Robert Macfarlane FRSL – Author
Dame Virginia McKenna DBE – Born Free Foundation
Dame Caroline Michel – Literary Agent
Karen Miller – Wildlife Photographer
Deborah Moggach OBE FRSL – Author
Lady Clare Morpurgo MBE – Philanthropist
Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE – Author
The Baroness Morris of Bolton OBE – Deputy Speaker (Lords), Conservative
Tom Mustill – biologist/filmmaker/author
Adam Nicolson FSA, FSA Scot, FRSL – Author
John O’Connell – Author
Chris Packham CBE – Wild Justice
Air Chief Marshall The Lord Peach KG GBE KCB DL – House of Lords, Crossbench Dr Silviu Petrovan – Senior Researcher at University of Cambridge and Conservation Research Manager at People's Trust for Endangered Species
Lorraine Platt – Co-founder, Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation
The Rt Hon. the Earl of Portsmouth – Former Chairman of the Game Conservancy Trust, Hampshire
David Profumo FRSL – Author
Sir Philip Pullman FRSL CBE – Author
Joanna Quinn – Author
The Rt Hon the Lord Randall of Uxbridge – House of Lords, Conservative
Ian Redmond OBE, CBiol, DSc(hc), FZS, FLS – Senior Wildlife Consultant
Sir Tim Rice OBE, OL – Lyricis

Monique Roffey FRSL – Author
Dan Snow MBE – Historian
The Rt Hon. the Lord Soames of Fletching – House of Lords, Conservative
Emma Slawinski – League Against Cruel Sports
Earl Spencer DL – Author
Dr Hannah Rose Thomas – Artist
Jonathan Thomson – Underhill Wood Nature Reserve
Colin Thubron CBE CRSL FRSL – Author
Will Travers OBE – Executive President, The Born Free Foundation
Isabella Tree, Lady Burrell – Author/Conservationist, Knepp
Edmund de Waal CBE – Author
Dr Jane Washington-Evans – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting
The Rt Rev. and the Rt Hon. the Lord Williams of Oystermouth (Rowan Williams) Frances Wilson FRSL – Author
Jeanette Winterson CBE FRSL – Author
Sue Wood – Wildlife Photographer
Dr Stephanie Wray - Director of Biocensus

cc:

The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR

Baroness Hayman of Ullock,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Nobel House, 17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR