The hare in Moldova: a game species counted every spring

The brown hare (Lepus europaeus), described in our entry Brown hare, is the only hare mentioned in Moldovan hunting texts. The Ministry of Environment calls it the "main resident game species" and uses this to justify measures to protect its breeding stock^[1].

Numbers are assessed every spring by hunting-ground managers together with specialists from the Institute of Zoology and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate. In 2025, the assessment covered about 376,000 hectares managed by the Hunters' and Fishermen's Society of Moldova (SVPM) and nearly 338,000 hectares managed by the state forestry agency Moldsilva^[3].

According to the ministry's notes, the estimated number of hares in spring fell from more than 180,000 in 2023 (72 hares per 1,000 hectares) to more than 158,000 in 2024 (63 per 1,000 hectares), then to more than 132,000 in 2025 (53 per 1,000 hectares)^[1][2][3]. As a new assessment methodology was adopted in early 2025, year-on-year comparisons should be treated with caution^[3].

Since 2024, hunting has been governed by the Law on Hunting and the Protection of Game Stocks (Law No. 55/2024) and its implementing government decision; earlier texts were based on Law No. 298/2018^[1][3]. The hunting seasons for each species are set out in an annex to the law^[4]. We do not reproduce them here.

The Ministry of Environment acts as administrator of the national game stock. Every year it approves the quotas proposed by the three categories of managers: Moldsilva's forestry units, tenants of forest land and the SVPM^[3].

Hare quotas are calculated from the expected increase between spring and autumn. For the 2023-2024 season, the proposed harvest was not to exceed 25% of this increase; for 2024-2025, the ministry set a ceiling of 20%^[1][2].

Another rule illustrates this caution: to protect the breeding stock, only one hare hunt is allowed in the same habitat during a season^[1].

The ministry's documents emphasise the fox. In 2024, the number of active dens recorded on SVPM hunting grounds pointed to 10 to 12 foxes per 1,000 hectares in autumn, ten times the optimum of 1 to 2 foxes adopted by the ministry, which described the situation as exceptional^[2]. The draft order for 2026-2027 sets an unlimited quota for the fox and the jackal, in particular to reduce their impact on roe deer, hare, pheasant and partridge^[4].

We have not found any public source on the rules applicable to introducing live hares into Moldova. Check with the Ministry of Environment. 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.