The mountain hare is one of the most important hunting species, a favorite object of amateur hunting in the forest zone of Russia. Data on the mountain hare population in the Kirov region and population dynamics from 1933 to 2020 are presented. An assessment of hunting bag size and its effectiveness was carried out; the volumes of procurement of fur and meat products were considered. The number of the mountain hare is at the stage of decline and is estimated at 130 thousand specimen; more than 80 thousand specimens are hunted annually. At the beginning of the 20th century, up to 60 thousand hare skins were harvested annually. Now fur products of hare hunting have lost their importance and have not been included in purchases since the end of the 1980s. The main product of the hare hunting is meat, the production volume of which in the research region exceeds 155 tons worth over 44 million rubles annually. The qualitative parameters of the meat products of the mountain hare, including the biochemical composition and contamination with pollutants, were considered. Intake of hare meat, in addition to providing the body with the most important protein component, contributes to the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases, but it can also have a certain toxicological hazard for consumers. This must be taken into account when organizing and carrying out hunts.

Zarubin Boris E., Ekonomov Aleksandr V., Kolesnikov Vyacheslav V., Shevnina Mariya S., Sergeev Aleksey A.

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