Wild hares tossed off runway for doing what comes naturally

MILAN, Italy — Wild hares at Milan's Linate airport seem to have only one thing on their mind, and their excessive mating and growing numbers have blocked takeoffs, landings and radar systems.

Officials on Sunday mounted a daylight raid to keep these furry creatures off the runways, part of a twice-annual capture to keep the airport population under control.

"There are always hares at the airport, the problem is that lately there were too many, and they cause problems with the radar and sensors that monitor the airport," said Nicoletta Angioni, spokeswoman for SEA, the company that operates Milan's airports.

Blowing whistles and waving their arms frantically, some 200 volunteers spooked the hares out of their holes and into waiting nets. The animals — 57 hares and four wild rabbits — were transferred in wooden crates to a wildlife preserve, officials said.

Usually the hare hunts take place overnight, when the airport's runways aren't terribly busy, but because there were so many hares this season, officials mounted a daylight capture so volunteers could better catch their bounding prey.

The airport reopened after a hare delay of just a few hours.