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 The existing legal framework, based on 19th-century legislation, is out of date, ineffective, and inconsistent with modern principles of wildlife management.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

Dr Richard Benwell – Wildlife and Countryside Link

Siân Berry MP – House of Commons, 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

Dr Celia Caulcott – Lake District National Park Partnership

Tracy Chevalier FRSL - Author

Ellie Chowns MP – House of Commons, Green Party

James Clark – Naturewatch Foundation, wildlife crime campaigner

Mark Cocker – Author and naturalist

Artemis Cooper FRSL – Author

Giles Coren – Author/journalist

Earl of Courtown – House of Lords, Conservative

The Lord Crathorne KVCO – House of Lords, Conservative

Sue Cross – Wildlife Photographer

Dame Judi Dench CH FRSA – Actor and animal welfare advocate

Carla Denyer MP – House of Commons, Co-Leader of the Green Party

Laura Douglas-Hamilton – Researcher, Renewable and Sustainable Energy APPG

Jonathan Drori CBE – Trustee of The Eden Project and Cambridge Science Centre, Ambassador for the WWF

The Earl of Dundee DL – House of Lords, Conservative

Peter Egan – Actor and animal welfare activist

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

Anthony Fitzherbert OBE – Agricultural expert, former special adviser to the FAO

Ruby Free – Author/conservation biologist

Robert Frewen FRICS FAAV – Conservationist

Sir Stephen Fry – Author and actor

The Lord Gascoigne – House of Lords, Conservative

Mary Glindon MP – House of Commons, Labour

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

Alastair Humphreys – Author

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

Nick Jones – Humane World for Animals

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

Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) – Comedian

Roger Morgan-Grenville – Author and conservationist

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

Adrian Ramsay MP – House of Commons, Co-Leader of the Green Party

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 – Lyricist

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