A hare-raising challenge in southern Brazil as invasive species multiplies like rabbits

Along with the capybara, lapwing, opossum, and guinea pig, Lepus europaeus — the European hare — is among the most common animal species to be found in the Brazilian countryside, particularly in the South and Southeast. However, in several regions of the country, hares are considered agricultural pests, causing a recurring problem to Brazilian natural ecosystems and farmers’ production.

Hares are known to gnaw on and break stalks of cash crops such as corn, beans, and certain fruits, causing significant losses for farmers.

According to a recent report by the Brazilian Biodiversity and Ecosystemic Services Platform, the total of almost 500 invasive plant and animal species in Brazil caused damages of more than USD 100 billion over the last 35 years — a figure that researchers believe underestimates the true cost of the problem.

The clue to the issue is in the name. The European hare is not native to Brazil, hailing instead from mainland Europe and parts of Asia. 

There are a number of stories about how the species arrived in South America, with one potentially apocryphal tale suggesting that German immigrants in southwest Uruguay brought the animals to the continent in the 1880s as they missed the taste of its meat. Other more common accounts have the European hare being introduced to Argentina and Chile as game animals, eventually showing up in Brazil around the 1950s.

Originally inhabiting the vast forest-less plains of the eastern European steppe, hares adapted easily to the Pampas of Uruguay, Argentina, and southern Brazil. The only Brazilian rabbit species, the much smaller and partially endangered tapiti, mainly lives...