Easter hare wanted – “Aktioun Hues” enters the next round

Easter is just around the corner and the hares are out and about again.

This time last year, we called on you for the first time to take part in our join-in campaign for the likeable Old Long Earsr.

Also this year we want to collect data on the distribution of the brown hare in Luxembourg – with your help!

So get out into nature and keep your mobile phone or camera handy when you go for a walk! If you spot a hare, you should report it using the iNaturalist app. Preferably with a photo, but without is also possible.

You can find the detailed instructions here in the downloads, as well as on our homepage Naturelo, as well as a profile to distinguish between the brown hare and wild rabbit.

You can follow all messages live on our project page at iNaturalist

A number of brown hares have already been spotted this year. They are already in the mating season and are romping around in fields and meadows.

How many will you catch with your camera… ?

Update 09.04.25: Due to a recently detected case of tularemia in Luxembourg, we would like to point out that dead hares should not be touched and the veterinary administration should be informed (if other causes of death such as injuries caused by vehicles can be ruled out).

Why are we calling for this action?

The typical habitat of the European hare/brown hare – the open landscape with fields and meadows – has increasingly changed in recent decades. The landscape has become poorer in the structures it needs (field margins, fallow strips, hedges) and the food supply has become more one-sided due to the cultivation of large-scale monocultures and the use of herbicides. At the same time, the road network has been expanded and traffic has increased.

The hare suffers from all of this, even though it appears to have a certain ability to adapt. However, the brown hare is also representative of a large number of other animals, such as various farmland birds and hedgehogs, which make similar demands on their habitat and have all seen their populations decline.

As there is no official national monitoring of the brown hare population, we want to work with you to collect data on this popular animal. This is because a better data situation means that existing hare populations can be better protected and the demands that these animals have on their habitat can be better identified. Citizen science is no substitute for scientific monitoring, but it is a very valuable support! And it’s also great fun!

However, sound monitoring by the state must still be introduced so that fact-based decisions can be made on the management and protection of the population. Luxembourg is lagging far behind its neighbouring countries in this respect, where hare inventories have been in place for some time.

Especially when it comes to an animal species that is hunted, its populations should be scientifically recorded and tracked. This is the only way to understand the effects of landscape changes and conservation measures or even to adapt hunting regulations.

Here you can view the results of the “Aktioun Hues” of 2024

27.03.25