Snow hare Switzerland: Climate crisis and shotgun blast

The mountain hare is a survivor of the Ice Age. As a highly specialized inhabitant of high mountains, it is adapted to life above the tree line like almost no other mammal. But climate change is robbing it of its habitat, the leisure industry demonstrably stresses it, and recreational hunters shoot around 900 animals every year. The German Wildlife Foundation has named it Animal of the Year 2025, not out of joy, but out of concern. In Switzerland, it is considered "potentially threatened." Nevertheless, it is still being hunted.

Profile

The mountain hare ( Lepus timidus ), known in the Alps as the alpine hare ( Lepus timidus varronis ), belongs to the hare family (Leporidae). With an average weight of around 3 kilograms and a body length of 40 to 60 centimeters, it is somewhat smaller and more compact than the European hare. Its ears are significantly shorter, which corresponds to Allen's rule: the colder the habitat, the shorter the extremities, in order to minimize heat loss. In winter, its paws are densely furred, which increases the surface area and makes it easier for it to walk on snow.

The shedding of fur: camouflage as a survival strategy

The most recognizable feature of the snowshoe hare is its seasonal coat change. In summer, it sports a greyish-brown coat that camouflages it among rocks and dwarf shrubs. In November, it molts into a white winter coat, with only the black tips of its ears remaining. In between, it displays a strikingly mottled transitional coat. This color change is genetically controlled and adapted to historical snow conditions. For millennia, it served as a perfect camouflage strategy. However, climate change has disrupted this timing: the snow is melting earlier and earlier, and snowshoe hares are increasingly found with white fur against a brown background. Professor Klaus Hackländer from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, describes it dramatically: "When you have white fur on a brown or green background, you're practically sitting ducks for predators" (National Geographic, 2023). In moonlight, the hares practically glow.

Biology and reproduction

The snowshoe hare is primarily crepuscular and nocturnal and lives a solitary life. During the day, it rests in a shallow depression (form) between rocks or under dwarf shrubs. It feeds on grasses, herbs, dwarf shrubs, bark, and lichens. In winter, when the snow cover obscures the vegetation, it switches to the bark and shoots of willows, alders, and bilberry bushes.

The mating season begins in spring. After a gestation period of approximately 50 days, the female gives birth to 1 to 4 young, which are born precocial and fully furred and sighted. The reproductive rate is lower than that of the European hare, making the mountain hare more vulnerable to population decline. Populations are subject to natural fluctuations influenced by food availability, weather, parasites, and predation.

Red List status

The mountain hare is classified as "near threatened" (NT) on the Swiss Red List of mammals. The Alpine population is considered particularly threatened because it is geographically isolated and lacks sources of immigration from northern populations (Wikipedia, Mountain hare). Nevertheless, the mountain hare is listed as a game species in the Federal Hunting Act (JSG).

Habitat: A melting high mountain range

Adapting to extremes

The mountain hare lives in the Swiss Alps at altitudes ranging from around 1,300 to over 3,000 meters. It inhabits the alpine and subalpine zones: dwarf shrub belts, scree slopes, boulder fields, and grassy meadows above the tree line. Along with the rock ptarmigan, it is one of the few animal species perfectly adapted to the boreo-alpine habitat (Wikipedia, Mountain hare). Currently, there are an estimated 14,000 mountain hares living in Switzerland (Fondation Franz Weber, 2020).

Climate change as an existential threat

The Alps are warming twice as fast as the global average. For the mountain hare, this means less snow, shorter winters, and rising temperatures during the breeding season. A study by the WSL and the University of Bern (Rehnus et al., Global Change Biology, 2018) calculated that the area of suitable habitat for the mountain hare in Switzerland will shrink by 26 to 45 percent by 2100, depending on the scenario. The northern and southern Pre-Alps are particularly affected. The loss is less pronounced in the Central Alps, but even there the number of suitable areas is decreasing and habitat fragmentation is increasing.

WSL researcher Maik Rehnus summarizes: "With the loss and increasing fragmentation of habitats, the species is becoming increasingly endangered" (SWI swissinfo.ch, 2018). Fragmentation leads to genetic impoverishment because isolated populations can no longer exchange genetic material.

The double threat: The European hare is advancing

Climate change brings another threat: The European hare, which normally lives at lower elevations, is increasingly settling in higher regions. A study from Graubünden shows that over 30 years, mountain hares have been moved an average of three meters higher per year, while the European hare has advanced twice as fast, at six meters per year (Hackländer, National Geographic, 2023). The overlap zone is growing. The larger and more dominant European hare displaces the mountain hare when food is scarce. Furthermore, the two species hybridize: Crossbreeding produces fertile offspring, which could lead to the genetic extinction of the mountain hare in the long term. Hackländer predicts: "The mountain hare will become extinct, but its genes will not" (National Geographic, 2023).

More on this topic: Dossier: Hunting and Biodiversity

The Hunt: A Folklore Hunt for an Ice Age Relic

Legal situation

The mountain hare is a game species under the Federal Hunting Act (JSG, Art. 5 para. 1). The closed season extends from January 1st to September 30th. It may be hunted from October to December. The cantons may further restrict the hunting season or protect the mountain hare year-round. In most cantons, it is primarily hunted as part of small game hunting, with the majority of culls taking place in the cantons of Graubünden, Valais, and Ticino.

The scale of the shootdown

Between 2014 and 2023, an average of around 900 mountain hares were killed annually in Switzerland (Wikipedia, Mountain hare). BirdLife Switzerland reported 868 kills in one year (BirdLife Switzerland, Hunting Statistics). The Franz Weber Foundation estimates around 1,000 animals per year (FFW, 2020). In the canton of Uri, where a vote on a hunting ban for ptarmigan and mountain hare was held in 2025, the number of animals killed was around 30 per year. The initiative was rejected with 52.87 percent of the vote (Aargauer Zeitung, May 2025). The Uri government argued that tourism and climate change posed greater threats than recreational hunting.

The absurdity: hunting climate victims

Hunting the mountain hare is not ecologically justifiable. Pro Natura, during the revision of the hunting law (2020), determined that there is no justification from a wildlife biology perspective for the traditional hunting of ptarmigan, black grouse, woodcock, and brown hare. These animals cause no damage and their populations do not need to be controlled. The same applies to the mountain hare. It causes no damage to wildlife. It does not conflict with any economic interests. It lives above the tree line, where it does not harm forests or agriculture. The only reason for hunting it is the tradition of high-altitude hunting, a recreational activity for hobby hunters.

Hunting a potentially endangered species, already under immense pressure from climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, hybridization, and recreational disturbance, violates the precautionary principle. The Franz Weber Foundation states: "In line with the precautionary principle, it would have long been appropriate to relieve the species of unnecessary pressure by granting it protected status, instead of further decimating it through hunting" (FFW, 2020).

More on this topic: Dossier: Hunting Myths

Leisure disorder: Stress that kills

Winter sports and energy consumption

Studies have shown that the feces of snowshoe hares in tourist regions contain significantly more stress hormones than those in quieter habitats (Rehnus and Bollmann, WSL, 2021). Stressed snowshoe hares require around 20 percent more energy, which severely reduces their chances of survival in the already energy-critical winter (FFW, 2020). Snowshoeing, freeriding, ski touring, and drone flights off-piste force the animals to flee and drive up their energy consumption.

The snowshoe hare has no reserves to spare in winter. Every disturbance costs it calories that it cannot replace in an environment with scarce food. The cumulative effect of climate stress, recreational disturbance, and hunting can be the final straw, even if each individual factor would not be fatal on its own.

The comparison with the ptarmigan

In 2019, the canton of Ticino banned hunting of the ptarmigan for the first time due to its endangerment from climate change (BirdLife Switzerland, 2020). In 2025, a referendum on a hunting ban for ptarmigan and mountain hare was held in the canton of Uri. The initiative narrowly failed. What already applies to the ptarmigan in some cantons is denied to the mountain hare, even though both species share the same habitat, face the same threats, and have the same red-list status.

What would need to change

An immediate, nationwide hunting ban on the mountain hare is needed: A potentially endangered species, whose existence is threatened by climate change, habitat loss, and hybridization, which causes no damage to wildlife and does not require population control, must not be hunted. What the Canton of Ticino has implemented for the ptarmigan must also apply to the mountain hare under federal law.
National Snowshoe Hare Monitoring : The WSL explicitly recommends the establishment of a national monitoring program (Rehnus et al., 2018). Currently, there are no reliable population figures. The estimate of approximately 14,000 animals is based on rough extrapolations. Without reliable data, any statement about "sustainable" hunting is scientifically untenable.
Effective wildlife sanctuaries in high mountains : The snowshoe hare needs undisturbed refuges in winter. Wildlife sanctuaries above the tree line must be designated and enforced over a large area. Snowshoeing, ski touring, and freeriding off-trail must be prohibited in these areas.
Drone flight bans over alpine habitats : Drones are an increasing source of disturbance for wildlife in high mountain regions. A comprehensive drone flight ban over the habitats of snowshoe hares and ptarmigan is urgently needed.
Protection of connectivity corridors : The increasing fragmentation of snowshoe hare habitats threatens to genetically impoverish isolated populations. The connectivity areas identified by the WSL must be designated as priority conservation areas.
Research on hybridization and climate adaptation : The advance of the European hare to higher elevations and increasing hybridization pose a long-term threat to the mountain hare. Research into the extent and consequences of hybridization is urgently needed to implement targeted conservation measures.

Argumentation

“The snowshoe hare is not endangered by recreational hunting; climate change is the main problem.” It is true that climate change is the primary threat. But precisely for this reason, every additional factor contributing to mortality must be eliminated. If a species is already under pressure due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and hybridization, it is ecologically irresponsible to hunt it further. The Franz Weber Foundation rightly calls for the application of the precautionary principle.

"The number of animals shot is low and has no impact on the overall population." With an estimated total population of 14,000 animals and around 900 shot per year, approximately 6 percent of the population is killed annually. For a species with a low reproduction rate and high natural mortality, this is not a negligible intervention. Furthermore, reliable population figures are lacking: recreational hunters are shooting at a species whose actual population trends they do not know.

“Hunting the mountain hare is a tradition and part of high-altitude hunting.” Tradition is no argument for hunting a potentially endangered species that causes no damage and does not require population control. Pro Natura has determined that, from a wildlife biology perspective, there is no justification for the traditional hunting of these species. High-altitude hunting of the mountain hare is a recreational activity, not wildlife management.

“Hobby hunters provide valuable data for monitoring through their kills.” This argument is circular: one hunts a species to collect data on its status and justifies the hunting with the collected data. Monitoring is also possible without killing: camera traps, track surveys, scat analyses, and genetic methods provide the same information without killing a single animal. The WSL conducts its research in the Swiss National Park, where hunting is prohibited.

"In the canton of Uri, the hunting ban was democratically rejected; the people have decided." The narrow rejection (52.87 percent) shows that society is divided on this issue. The fact that the Uri government initially supported a hunting ban itself and only changed its mind under pressure from the recreational hunting lobby speaks volumes. Species protection must not fail due to cantonal votes when the scientific evidence is clear. The federal government has a duty to enshrine the protection of the snow hare at the national level.

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Sources

Federal Hunting Statistics, FOEN/Wildlife Switzerland: http://www.jagdstatistik.ch (Snow Hare hunting data)
Rehnus, M. et al. (2018): Habitat suitability modelling of the Alpine mountain hare. Global Change Biology, WSL/University of Bern/University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Rehnus, M. and Bollmann, K. (2021): Stress levels of snow hares in tourist regions. WSL
Franz Weber Foundation (2020): Snowshoe Hare, The Loser of Climate Change. Fact Sheet (ffw.ch)
BirdLife Switzerland: The current hunting statistics and the revised hunting law (birdlife.ch)
National Geographic (2023): Too White for the Alps: Can the snow hare defy climate change? (nationalgeographic.de)
SWI swissinfo.ch (2018): Climate change is making things difficult for snow hares in the Alps.
Naturschutz.ch (2018): Climate change is making things difficult for snow hares
Wikipedia: Arctic hare (Lepus timidus)
Aargauer Zeitung (May 2025): Uri, snow hare and ptarmigan may continue to be hunted
NZZ (May 2025): Hunting lobby versus conservationists, Uri votes on a hunting ban
Hunting Switzerland/Wildlife Switzerland: Impact of hunting regulations on black grouse, ptarmigan, woodcock, brown hare and mountain hare
German Wildlife Foundation: Animal of the Year 2025, Alpine Hare
Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (JSG, SR 922.0)

Our claim

The mountain hare is a living relic of the Ice Age, an animal that has survived in the Swiss Alps since the end of the last glaciation. It has endured millennia of climate change, but the current rate of warming is unprecedented. Its habitat is shrinking, its camouflage is failing, its competitors are advancing, and its genes are being diluted through hybridization. In this situation, it is treated as recreational game by hobby hunters: around 900 animals per year, shot in the refuge of a species that has nowhere else to go. The mountain hare causes no damage. It conflicts with no human interests. The only reason for hunting it is tradition, and tradition is the weakest of all arguments when a species is on the verge of extinction. The consequence is clear: Mountain hare hunting must be stopped immediately and throughout Switzerland. What science recommends and the precautionary principle dictates must no longer be thwarted by the resistance of the recreational hunting lobby. This dossier is continuously updated as new figures, studies or political developments require it.

More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our dossier on hunting, we compile fact checks, analyses and background reports.