Abstract
A study to elucidate the main species of coccidia was carried out on breeder hare reared in an Umbrian intensive game breeding farm and on juvenile hare reared first in cages and subsequently in 9 protected areas in the Province of Perugia (Italy). A total of 2,100 faecal samples from game hare were collected monthly between January 1990-December 1993. Results showed that coccidia were not present in the breeder and juvenile hare kept in cages; conversely, Eimeria leporis and E. semisculpta were detected in the juvenile hare reared in eight of the protected areas but showed a wide range of variability. In addition E. robertsoni, E. townsendi, E. hungarica and E. europea were isolated from the dead hare reared in one protected area with a high coccidial prevalence.
