Welfare assessment of European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) reared in captivity for their subsequent release

Abstract

For Serbian hunting grounds, the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is the most interesting type of small hunting game animal. However, the number of hares has decreased in recent decades, so hunters and authorities rear hares in captivity systems for their subsequent release. In order to investigate the welfare of cage-reared hares in Serbia, two captivity systems were analyzed. For welfare assessment, animal-based indicators were from the welfare quality assessment protocol for rabbits. The main welfare issues identified were locomotor stereotype behaviors (observed in 33.08%, 43/130 of caged hares), hairless areas on the animal (28.46%, 37/130), wounds on the body (18.46%, 24/130), wounds on the ears (16.92%, 22/130), and thin body condition score (BCS) (10.77%, 14/130). Significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found between some welfare indicators: thin BCS and wounds on the body; thin BCS and nasal discharge; wounds on the body and hairless areas, and; locomotor stereotype behaviors and hairless areas. The results of this study provide valuable insight into the impact of the captive rearing system on the welfare of European brown hares in Serbia.