Wanted: someone to conduct first head count of hare population

AN unusual census is due to get underway later this year when a head count is carried out on one of the country’s most secretive residents.

The first survey of the national hare population is to be commissioned to try and find out how many of the distinctive species exist and where they are faring best.

Two varieties of the long-eared mammal live in Ireland, the Irish hare and the brown hare, but, ironically given their protected status, the only regular statistics available to wildlife experts come from hunting bag records and coursing club returns.

The survey could have implications for coursing enthusiasts who carry out their activities under licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

Part of the brief for the count includes a review of the data submitted by the Irish Coursing Club to wildlife officials over the last 16 years.

No decision has been taken yet as to how the census takers will overcome the practical difficulties involved in conducting an accurate count of the mammals.

A tender for an outside agency to take charge of the project was issued at the end of last week and calls for consideration of methods including capture of the animals, visual counts and examination of droppings. Whichever method is chosen, the counters are in for a chilly time as the Department of the Environment has stipulated that the count takes place this winter. The department is seeking an interim report by June of next year and a full report a year later.

About half of the NPWS’s 90 trained field staff will participate in the count, but will be limited by their existing duties to giving three or four days’ assistance each. They have previously carried out population surveys on otters and badgers, but never before on hares despite calls over many years from conservationists and the Irish Council Against Blood Sports.

The European Union habitats directive has placed pressure on the State to collect and compile accurate statistical records.