The hare in Montenegro: a game species from the coast to the mountains

Montenegro's Law on Game and Hunting (Zakon o divljači i lovstvu) classifies the brown hare as "small furred game" (sitna dlakava divljač)^[1]. The 2026 government decision establishing the hunting grounds (lovišta) creates 31 of them, spread across the Mediterranean, sub-Mediterranean, central and northern zones, and lists the hare among the core species of each^[3]. On the coast, in Ulcinj or Bar for example, it is listed alongside the rock partridge and ducks; in the mountains, alongside roe deer, chamois and bear^[3].

For the species' biology, see our entry Brown hare.

We have not found any recent public national statistics on hare numbers or game bags in Montenegro. The law entrusts monitoring to the hunting-ground managers: they establish and track game numbers, keep records and collect data according to a monitoring methodology, in collaboration with nature protection institutions^[1]. Each hunting ground has a ten-year management plan (lovna osnova) setting objectives and measures for each species, according to habitat, numbers and the state of the population^[1]. It is in these documents that field data are to be found.

Hunting grounds are assigned by the government to managers (korisnici lovišta): the decision on the Mojkovac hunting ground, for example, entrusts it to a local hunters' organisation for ten years^[4]. The Hunting Association of Montenegro (Lovački savez Crne Gore) is the national hunters' association provided for by law; it is consulted on the assignment of hunting grounds and represents its members at home and abroad^[1].

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management is preparing the hunting development strategy for 2025-2034, which is to cover all of the country's hunting areas^[5].

Since the amendment to the law adopted in 2025, game may only be hunted during the season set for each species by the ministry responsible for hunting, with the agreement of the authority responsible for nature protection; a species with no season set is protected by a hunting ban^[2]. The ministry may shorten the season or the hunting days if a species' numbers fall below the natural carrying capacity of a hunting ground^[2]. We do not publish any dates: check with the ministry or the hunting-ground manager.

The law defines "artificial stocking" as the introduction of game reared in breeding facilities, and states that the import and export of game are governed by this law and by specific regulations^[1]. Since 2025, keeping game in enclosures without authorisation from the ministry has been prohibited^[2]. For any project to introduce hares, check with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.

Our guide to returning hares to the wild details the principles of method. 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.