The hare in Croatia: a small game species of the northern plains

According to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), about 28,000 hares were shot in both 2023 and 2024: the harvest stayed practically stable from one year to the next, while the number of hunters fell by 11.8%, from 68,292 to 60,244^[3]. A game bag is not a census, but it gives an order of magnitude.

A study published in 2008 in Natura Croatica by researchers from Karlovac University of Applied Sciences and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb examined hare populations in Međimurje, in the far north of the country^[4]. Using hunting management plans, the authors found that between 1967 and 2005 the game bag fell roughly ninefold and the relative abundance of hares dropped by 56%^[4].

Over the same period, the area of habitat suitable for hare hunting shrank by 62%, which the authors identify as a probable cause of the decline^[4]. For the biology of the species, see our Brown hare profile.

Hunting is governed by the Hunting Act (Zakon o lovstvu) adopted in 2018^[1]. Hunting grounds (lovišta) are established by decision of the minister responsible for hunting, and the holder of the hunting right submits management plans to the ministry for approval^[1]. The Act is explicit: without an approved hunting management plan, the hunting right cannot be exercised^[1]. The hunting management framework (lovnogospodarska osnova) is drawn up for ten years^[1].

The Croatian Hunting Federation (Hrvatski lovački savez, HLS) is a voluntary national association bringing together the county federations and that of the City of Zagreb, hunting associations and hunters^[1].

In Croatia, close seasons (lovostaj) are not set by the regions: the Act gives the minister the task of laying them down by regulation, species by species, according to their biology and living conditions^[1]. The regulation in force, published in 2019 by the Ministry of Agriculture, sets a single period for the hare across the whole country^[2]. The Act also provides for cases in which the close season may be shortened or lifted by derogation^[1]. We do not reproduce the dates here: consult the regulation in force or your hunting association.

The Act distinguishes between two operations. "Unošenje" means bringing into a hunting ground a species already present there; it is one of the game breeding and protection measures aimed at reaching the numbers set by the management framework and the breeding programme^[1]. "Uvođenje", the introduction of a species outside its natural range, is only possible with the ministry's authorisation, after the consent of the ministry responsible for nature protection^[1].

For the veterinary and administrative requirements that apply to a specific operation, check with the ministry responsible for hunting and the Croatian Hunting Federation. Our guide to returning hares to the wild points out that adding animals is no substitute for habitat, monitoring or moderate hunting. 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.