Integrating field sports, hare population management and conservation

• Autorzy: Reid N. , Magee C. , Montgomery W.I.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Conflicts between field sports, animal welfare and species conservation are frequently contentious. In Ireland, the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) competitively tests the speed and agility of two greyhounds by using a live hare as a lure. Each coursing club is associated with a number of discrete localities, known as preserves, which are managed favourably for hares including predator control, prohibition of other forms of hunting such as shooting and poaching and the maintenance and enhancement of suitable hare habitat. We indirectly tested the efficacy of such management by comparing hare abundance within preserves to that in the wider countryside. In real terms, mean hare density was 18 times higher, and after controlling for variance in habitat remained 3 times higher, within ICC preserves than the wider countryside. Whilst we cannot rule out the role of habitat, our results suggest that hare numbers are maintained at high levels in ICC preserves either because clubs select areas of high hare density and subsequently have a negligible effect on numbers or that active population management positively increases hare abundance. The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus Bell, 1837 is one of the highest priority species for conservation action in Ireland and without concessions for its role in conservation, any change in the legal status of hare coursing under animal welfare grounds, may necessitate an increase in Government subsidies for conservation on private land together with a strengthened capacity for legislation enforcement.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

field sport; conflict; hare; animal population; population management; conservation; animal welfare; species conservation; Ireland; hunting; dog; mountain hare; population density; Lepus timidus; Lepus timidus hibernicus; Irish hare

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Acta Theriologica
• Rocznik: 2010
• Tom: 55
• Numer: 1
• Opis fizyczny: p.61-71,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Reid N.

• Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, U.K.

autor

Magee C.

autor

Montgomery W.I.

Bibliografia

• Abildgård F., Andersen J. and Barnorff-Nielsen O. 1972. The hare population (Lepus europaeus, Pallas) of Illumø Island, Denmark. A report on the analysis of the data from 1959 to 1970. Danish Review of Game Biology 6: 1–31.
• Anonymous 1979. Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats. Bern Convention. Council of Europe, Strasbourg.
• Anonymous 2005. All Ireland Species Action Plans: Irish Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana), Pollan (Coregonus autumnalis), Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus), and Corncrake (Crex crex). Environment & Heritage Service (DOE), Belfast and National Parks & Wildlife Service (DOEHLG), Dublin: 6–9.
• Anonymous 2008. A summary of directives, instructions and guidance notes issued by the executive committee of the Irish Coursing Club to the club secretaries, control stewards, judges and slippers. Irish Coursing Club, Ireland: 4–17.
• Bucher E. H. 1992. The causes of extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. Volume 9. [In: Current ornithology. D. M. Power, ed]. Plenum Press, New York: 1–36.
• Burns L., Edwards V., Marsh J., Soulsby L. and Winter M. 2000. Report of the committee of inquiry into hunting with dogs in England and Wales. HMSO, Norwich: 9–131.
• Dingerkus S. K. and Montgomery W. I. 2002. A review of the status and decline in abundance of the Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) in Northern Ireland. Mammal Review 32: 1–11. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2907.2002. 00098.x
• Dyrcz A., Wink M., Kruszewicz A. and Leisler B. 2005. Male reproductive success is correlated with blood parasite levels and body condition in the promiscuous aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola). Auk 122: 558–565. doi: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0558:MRSICW]2.0.CO;2
• EEA 2000. Corine Land Cover 2000 map. European Environment Agency. Copenhagen, Denmark.
• EEC 92/43 1992. Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats of Wild Fauna and Flora. Official Journal of the European Union L, 206: 7.
• ESRI® ArcMapTM 9.3 (1999–2008) software. San Francisco, California, USA.
• GenStat v6 2002. Lawes Agricultural Trust, VSN International Ltd. Oxford. United Kingdom.
• Hall-Aspland S., Sweeney O., Tosh D., Preston S. P., Montgomery W. I. and McDonald R. A. 2006. Northern Ireland Irish hare survey 2006. Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.). UK.
• Hutchings M. R. and Harris S. 1996. The current status of the brown hare Lepus europaeus in Britain. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough: 53–61.
• ICABS 2009. Irish council against blood sports. http:// www.banbloodsports.com last accessed 03/09/2009.
• Jeffery R. J. 1996. Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of the Irish hare, Lepus timidus hibernicus (Bell, 1837) on lowland farmland. PhD thesis, Trinity College, University of Dublin: 35–73.
• Keane A., Brooke M. D. and McGowan P. J. K. 2005. Correlates of extinction risk and hunting pressure in gamebirds (Galliformes). Biological Conservation 126: 216–233. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2005.05.011
• Kleijn D., Baquero R. A., Clough Y., Diaz M., De Esteban J., Fernández F., Gabriel D., Herzog F., Holzschuch A., Jöhl R., Knop E., Kruess A., Marshall E. J. P., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tscharntke T., Verhulst J., West T. M. and Yela J. L. 2006. Mixed biodiversity benefits of agrienvironment schemes in five European countries. Ecology Letters 9: 243–254. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005. 00869.x
• Kleijn D., Berendse F., Smit R. and Gilissen N. 2001. Agri-environment schemes do not effectively protect biodiversity in Dutch agricultural landscapes. Nature 413: 723–725. doi: 10.1038/35099540
• Kleijn D. and Sutherland W. J. 2003. How effective are European agri-environment schemes in conserving and promoting biodiversity? Journal of Applied Ecology 40: 947–967. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2003.00868.x
• Kuijper D. P. J., Beek P., VanWieren S. E. and Bakker J. P. 2008. Time-scale effects in the interaction between a large and a small herbivore. Basic and Applied Ecology 9: 126–134. doi: 10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008
• LACS 2006. League Against Cruel Sports. http://​www.​league.​ uk.com/campaigns/ni last accessed 03/09/2009.
• Lindström E. R., Andren H., Angelstam P., Cederlund G., Hornfeldt B., Jaderberg L., Lemnell P. A., Martinsson B., Skold K. and Svenson J. E. 1994. Disease reveals the predator: sarcoptic mange, red fox predation, and prey populations. Ecology 75: 1042–1049. doi: 10.2307/1939428
• Lovelace D., May R. and Perkins R. 2000. Money Makes the Countryside Go Round WWF. Godalming, UK.
• Macdonald D. W. and Johnson P. J. 2000. Farmers and the custody of the countryside: trends in loss and conservation of non-productive habitats 1981–1998. Biological Conservation 94: 221–234. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(99) 00173-1
• Macdonald D. W., Tattersall F. H., Johnston P. J., Carbone C., Reynolds J. C., Langbein J., Rushton S. P. and Shirley M. D. F. 2000. Management and control of populations of foxes, deer, hares and mink in England and Wales, and the impact of hunting with dogs. [In: Report of the committee of inquiry into hunting with dogs in England and Wales. L. Burns, V. Edwards, J. Marsh, L. Soulsby and M. Winter, eds]. HMSO, Norwich: 9–131.
• Marboutin E., Bray Y., Péroux R., Mauvy B. and Lartiges A. 2003. Population dynamics in European hare: breeding parameters and sustainable harvest rates. Journal of Applied Ecology 40: 580–591. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2664. 2003.00813.x
• McAlpine C. A., Rhodes J. R., Callaghan J. G., Bowen M. E., Lunney D., Mitchell D. L., Pullar D. V. and Possingham H. P. 2006. The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: a case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia. Biological Conservation 132: 153–165.
• Milnergulland E. J. and Beddington J. R. 1993. The exploitation of Elephants for the ivory trade — An historical-perspective. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 252(1333): 29–37. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1993.0042
• Molony S. E., Dowding C. V., Baker P. J., Cuthill I. C. and Harris S. 2006. The effect of translocation and temporary captivity on wildlife rehabilitation success: An experimental study using European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). Biological Conservation 130: 530–537. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2006.01.015
• Murray D. L., Keith L. B. and Cary J. R. 1998. Do parasitism and nutritional status interact to affect production in Snowshoe hares? Ecology 79: 1209–1222. doi: 10.1890/ 0012-9658(1998)079[1209:DPANSI]2.0.CO;2
• Newey S., Allison P., Smith A., Graham I. and Thirgood S. 2007. The role of parasites and nutrition in driving unstable population dynamics in the mountain hare (Lepus timidus). [In: Proceedings of the International Union of Game Biologists XXVII Congress, Uppsala, Sweden. K. Sjöberg and T. Rooke, eds]. Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umea: 117.
• Oldfield T. E. E., Smith R. J., Harrop S. R. and Leader-Williams N. 2003. Field sports and conservation in the United Kingdom. Nature 423: 531–533.
• O’Mahony D. and Montgomery W. I. 2006. The Distribution, abundance and habitat use of the Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) in upland and lowland areas of Co. Antrim and Co. Down. Environment and Heritage Service Research and Development Series No. 06/20.
• Pépin D. 1985. Spring density and day time distribution of the European hare in relation to the habitat in an open field agrosystem. Zeitschriff für Säugetierkunde 51: 79–86.
• Preston J., Prodöhl P., Portig A. and Montgomery I. 2003. The Northern Ireland hare Lepus timidus hibernicus Survey 2002. Queen’s University Belfast: 13–16.
• Reynolds J. C. and Tapper S. C. 1995. Predation by foxes Vulpes vulpes on brown hares Lepus europaeus in central southern England, and its potential impact on annual population growth. Wildlife Biology 1: 145–158.
• Reid N. 2006. Conservation ecology of the Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus). PhD thesis, Queen’s University Belfast, UK: 137–155.
• Reid N., McDonald R. A. and Montgomery W. I. 2007a. Mammals and agri-environment schemes: hare haven or pest paradise? Journal of Applied Ecology 44: 1200–1208. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01336.x
• Reid N., McDonald R. A. and Montgomery W. I. 2007b. Factors associated with hare mortality during coursing. Animal Welfare 16: 427–434.
• Reid N., Dingerkus K., Montgomery W. I., Marnell F., Jeffrey R., Lynn D., Kingston N. and McDonald R. A. 2007c. Status of hares in Ireland: hare survey of Ireland 2006/07. [In: Irish Wildlife Manuals. No. 30. F. Marnell and N. Kingston, eds]. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland: 25–46.
• Rempel R. 2008. Patch Analyst 4.0 software. Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research. Ontario. Canada.
• Schmidt N. M., Asferg T. and Forchhammer M. C. 2004. Long-term patterns in European brown hare population dynamics in Denmark: effects of agriculture, predation and climatic. BMC Ecology 4: 15. doi: 10.1186/1472-6785-4-15
• Smith R. K., Jennings N., Robinson A. and Harris S. 2004. Conservation of European hares Lepus europaeus in Britain: is increasing habitat heterogeneity in farmland the answer? Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 1092–1102. doi: 10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00976.x
• Smith R. K., Vaughan-Jennings N. and Harris S. 2005. A quantitative analysis of the abundance and demography of European hares Lepus europaeus in relation to habitat type, intensity of agriculture and climate. Mammal Review 35: 1–24. doi: org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2005. 00057.x
• Stoate C. 2002. Multifunctional use of a natural resource on farmland: wild pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) management and the conservation of farmland passerines. Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 561–573.
• Stoate C. and Tapper S. C. 1993. The impact of three hunting methods on brown hare populations in Britain. Game and Wildlife Science 10: 229–240.
• Tapper S. 1999. A question of balance: game animals and their role in the British Countryside. Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge: 1–288.
• Tapper S. C. and Parsons N. 1984. The changing status of the brown hare (Lepus capensis L.) in Britain. Mammal Review 14: 57–70. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2907.1984.tb 00339.x
• Tapper S. and Stoate C. 1994. Hares — the game management connection. Game Conservancy Review 25: 102–103.
• Tosh D., Brown S., Preston J., Montgomery W. I., Reid N., Marques T. A., Borchers D. L., Buckland S. T. and Mc-Donald R. A. 2005. Northern Ireland Irish hare survey 2005. Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.), UK: 1–12.
• Vaughan N., Lucas E. A., Harris S. and White P. C. L. 2003. Habitat associations of the European hare Lepus europaeus in England and Wales: implications for farmland management. Journal of Applied Ecology 40: 163–175. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2664.2003.00784.x
• Watson A., Hewson R., Jenkins D. and Parr P. 1973. Population densities of mountain hares compared with red grouse on Scottish moors. Oikos 24: 225–230.
• Whelan J. 1985. The population and distribution of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus L.) on farmland. Irish Naturalists’ Journal 21: 532–534.
• Whilde A. 1993. Threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and fish in Ireland. Irish Red Data Book II: Vertebrates. HMSO, Belfast, UK: 1–25.
• Wolfe A. 1995 A study of the ecology of the Irish mountain hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) with some considerations for its management and that of the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on North Bull Island, Dublin Bay. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland, Dublin: 1–234.
• Wolfe A. and Hayden T. J. 1996. Home ranges of Irish mountain hares on coastal grassland. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 96B: 141–146.