One of the great pleasures of walking these hills is seeing the mountain hares but none were to be seen today. Why? Because they've been slaughtered by landowners. Massacred for sport, no matter what the landowners say. Hundreds and hundreds have been shot - including apparently on the Balmoral estate. Sadness was mixed with fury at this carnage. Just Google "cull of mountain hares in Scotland" and be disgusted (I hope).
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5 comments:
That is very hard to bear. I can JUST see some logic in controlling , say foxes if they are killing your livestock, or badgers if they are infecting your dairy herd, but what is so revolting, and difficult to believe is that there are so many people out there that just TAKE ENJOYMENT FROM KILLING FOR THE SAKE OF IT.
It's a great sight and such enjoyment to see a Hare in white tearing around the heather and the peat groughs. It will be a sad day when they disappear. Let's hope they don't.
I loath such people Conrad. I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a wildlife crime but if this isn't one, the law needs to be changed. We were on Glas Maol today and also went over to Little Glas Maol, a walk normally enhanced immeasurably by the presence of the hares. Not one did we see. So, so sad.
It was a great sight here but as I said in my reply to Conrad, we went out today to hills we know had healthy populations but saw none. It all felt very empty of life.
There are a few on the Cairnwell side and maybe, given a chance, some will cross the road and recolonise Glas Maol etc. The photographs I found sickening.
Hi Gibson,
As with raptor persecution, and most other forms of wildlife crime, all that seems to be required to constitute an adequate defence is for those responsible to pretend it never happened. And... well, that's pretty much it: no follow-up, no meaningful investigation, no incentive for behaviour to change.
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