 European hares are native to much of continental Europe . Their range extends from northern Spain to southern Scandinavia , eastern Europe and northern parts of the Middle East and Central Asia . They have been extending their range into Siberia . They may have been introduced to Britain by the Romans . They have also been introduced , mostly as game animals , to North America ( in Ontario and New York State , and unsuccessfully in Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and Connecticut ) , Brazil , Chile , Argentina , Uruguay , Paraguay , Bolivia , Peru , the Falkland Islands , Australia , both islands of New Zealand and the south Pacific coast of Russia . 
