Hare Asylums - The Truth

Signs like this were often seen on the streets of Bridgewater and Halifax (that housed the most prominent Hare Asylums).

Most of us are aware of the terrible history associated with hare asylums.

The first Hare Asylum; The Saint Francis of Assisi Lepus Sanitorium was set up by a group of monks in 1752 in York. It  was long considered that the actions of hares in the month of March were not only damaging to the morals of good Christian folk but the also were potentially infectious.

For this reason it was considered prudent that all hares were incarcerated in specially made asylums from the first to the thirty first of March.

This poem was used to raise funds for the hare asylums. The text points to the problems associated with the Mad March syndrome.

Over the years more Hare Asylums appeared across the country. According to official records, at their peak (in 1854), there were 49 Hare Asylums in the United Kingdom. The majority of these were privately funded and run but, according to Professor B. Hutchins, renowned zoological historian, at least three were funded by local councils (notably Bridgewater, Halifax and Newbury).

Following a government review of practices at these asylums the majority were shut down in the late nineteenth century though the last (in East Swindon) remained open until 1931.

Published by Esoheritix in 1965 - This is the first full investigation into the Victorian Hare Asylums.

In his book "The Truth about Hare Asylums" Professor B. Hutchins reveals some of the terrible practices associated with these places. (Please be aware the following list does contain some quite shocking information which we only reveal here to expose the truth about the Hare Asylums.)

1. Hares were placed in a room on their own for an hour a day. In the room was a hatch through which a Nun would sing three hymns (repeating them once complete).

2. All hares were forcibly baptised.

3. Male hares (bucks) were given bowls of ale to drink to control libido.

4. Female hares (does) were trained in courting and dining etiquette.

5. Hares that followed their breeding instinct were chastised and the book of Job read to them in its entirety.

For more information about Hare Asylums we heartily recommend "The Truth About Hare Asylums". (Out of Print)