Best-selling nature writer to sign copies of new book in independent Chichester bookshop

The book, Dalton’s first, was published only last year and follows the author’s experience of raising a leveret – a baby hare – and preparing it for a return to the wild.

A heartfelt cry for greater meditation on our relationship with the natural world, and a book arguably written in the tradition of Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, the book was an instant success; a consistent bestseller, and shortlisted for awards like the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction and the Waterstones Book of the Year.

As of tomorrow, Dalton will be appearing at The Sussex Bookshop, on South Street in Chichester, between 12pm and 2pm, to sign books and chat to readers.

It’s an exciting development for The Sussex Bookshop, a new independent business which opened only last year, focusing on beautiful editions of beloved books.

As well as meeting Chloe Dalton herself, customers will also have a chance to sign a national petition calling on the government to stop the shooting of hares and their young during peak breeding season. Organisers say that a close breeding season from February 1 to September 30 will help safeguard an animal whose population has fallen by as much as 80 per cent in the last 100 years.

With more than 30,0000 signatures, the petition has already prompted a response from the government, which gestured towards plans for ‘the most ambitious animal welfare programme in a generation.’

"DEFRA Ministers therefore support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England,the government’s response says. “The hare is a much-loved species and we fail to give it the protection we should. England and Wales stand out as being among the few European countries not to have a close season for their hares. “However, the Government requires a suitable primary legislative vehicle to deliver this close season. There is not one currently in place, but DEFRA will continue to look for suitable opportunities to take this measure forward.

“Wildlife management is a devolved matter, and the response provided therefore relates to England only with the potential for relevant policy to extend and apply to Wales.”

To find out more about the petition, visit https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/724795