Hares in Bulgaria: a game species from the plains to the mountains

The brown hare (Lepus europaeus), described in our brown hare profile, is Bulgaria's only hare. A study from Trakia University presents it as one of the most common game species, widespread throughout the country^[1].

The same study, carried out in 2021-2022 with camera traps in the oak and beech forests of the central Stara Planina, far from any farmland, shows a hare that is mainly nocturnal in the cold season, then active at dawn and dusk in the warmer months. There it shares its range with the golden jackal, the red fox, the stone marten and, higher up, the wolf, under the watch of the common buzzard, the goshawk and the golden eagle^[1].

The Union of Hunters and Anglers in Bulgaria (NLRS-SLRB) publishes the results of the spring censuses carried out by its associations. The 2014 spring census gave around 324,000 hares on the grounds of its member associations alone; more recent counts (2017-2019) are published on the same site^[3]. This figure therefore does not cover the whole country, and the sources we consulted do not allow a recent quantified national trend to be identified.

The health of hare populations is also being studied. Between 2009 and 2016, researchers examined 790 hare lungs from different regions: 11% carried parasites, mostly in animals from the south of the country^[2].

Hunting is governed by the Hunting and Game Protection Act (Закон за лова и опазване на дивеча) and its implementing regulation. It falls under the authority of the Executive Forest Agency (ИАГ), part of the Ministry of Agriculture, which supervises it together with its regional forest directorates and the state forestry and hunting enterprises^[6].

Hunting seasons are set by ministerial order; according to Bulgarian National Radio, the opening and closing dates for each species are reviewed every year on the basis of population monitoring and scientific assessments^[7]. We do not reproduce those dates here: consult the texts in force or the Forest Agency.

A Bulgarian particularity: the NLRS-SLRB runs a « national programme for the sustainable development of game resources through restocking », funded by its associations and by funds provided for in the Act's implementing regulation^[5]. Associations submit their applications to the Union.

These operations are authorised by the Forest Agency. At the end of 2021, the Agency thus authorised, under Article 52 of the implementing regulation, the restocking in 2022 of farm-reared game, including hares, on the grounds managed by member associations, while recalling the obligation to comply with the Act and its implementing texts^[4].

We have found no public source setting out the rules that apply to bringing live hares into Bulgaria from other countries. For any project, check with the Executive Forest Agency (ИАГ) and the Bulgarian veterinary services. Our guide to returning hares to the wild sets out the basic precautions from a French perspective.

GIBIS, a game breeder based in Chatte, in the Isère department of France, raises young hares there and also offers wild-caught hares from Central Europe: see our hares. The photos on this page show the species in its habitat and do not depict our animals.