Rabbit Numbers

[max abell 196]

 

The rabbits are definitely not in the numbers they used to be in the 70s when I started ferreting

We are lucky enough to have thousands of acres of permissions and the rabbit numbers now tend to go up and down year to year some seasons we have a good year or couple of weeks years on the trot then other years we're struggling to get small numbers

Yet years ago we could ferret the same warrens year after year and get roughly the same amount of rabbits so I'm not sure what's changed cos more people ferreted them days and mixy was worse them days than now so don't know what the answer is. ?????

 

Very true Max Abell...

 

I've hunted rabbits in most counties throughout the UK ...really enjoyed it..

However,.we always knew, that sooner or later, we would kill the goose, that laid the golden egg. Taken some large quantities in the Far North of Scotland,...hunting over terrain that was best described as being, a rabbit paradise...But,...even today,..when I catch 40 or so rabbits,..I often start to think,.maybe,...enough is enough...

 

Time moves on,.nothing remains the same,.but still enough shushis around,.to see me out

yeh true Phil I'm in my 50s and not as fit and agile as I was so I'm not keen on doing the big warrens on the South Downs anymore like I used to to when I was younger

I think we are all guilty at some point of taking far more rabbits than we need especially lamping with the rummy etc it was nothing to shoot 100 or more a night and as said it's got to have a long term knock on effect

Maybe it will be woodies next in a few years who knows it might seem unlikely now but if someone would have told me back in the 70s that one day we would be struggling for rabbits in a few years I would have laughed

[levigsp 938]

 

The rabbits are definitely not in the numbers they used to be in the 70s when I started ferreting

We are lucky enough to have thousands of acres of permissions and the rabbit numbers now tend to go up and down year to year some seasons we have a good year or couple of weeks years on the trot then other years we're struggling to get small numbers

Yet years ago we could ferret the same warrens year after year and get roughly the same amount of rabbits so I'm not sure what's changed cos more people ferreted them days and mixy was worse them days than now so don't know what the answer is. ?????

 

Very true Max Abell...

 

I've hunted rabbits in most counties throughout the UK ...really enjoyed it..

However,.we always knew, that sooner or later, we would kill the goose, that laid the golden egg. Taken some large quantities in the Far North of Scotland,...hunting over terrain that was best described as being, a rabbit paradise...But,...even today,..when I catch 40 or so rabbits,..I often start to think,.maybe,...enough is enough...

 

Time moves on,.nothing remains the same,.but still enough shushis around,.to see me out

 

Phil Caithness has changed a LOt since the days you first came up.

More people, more houses in the countryside and far far less rabbits then there were, VHD finaly saw them off.

In the 80s I was selling hundreds a week, now your lucky to get that in a year.

[LOL 212]

As a youngster I used to read that after plumber moved up to Caithness he killed rabbits by the 100's ,Seems the dales is much the same big numbers if you want to put the effort in ?. Well of now I'm off for five weeks spent the last two day round about Caithness don't think the fields are alive with rabbits seem a few asked about and if the chance comes I would go back up and do a bit of ferreting ,but I can remberD ten years or so ago ferreting round Perth and hitting bags of seventy but are those days in the past ?

Did some rabbiting around perth area about 10 year ago a place called blair gowry black loonings had 120 in two days ferriting and lamping

[LOL 212]

Blair gowry 10 years ago

[tjones3862 3,423]

Blair gowry 10 years ago

YOU WILL NOT GET THAT NOW,, WELL NOT THAT EASY,, , FROM PERTH TO GRANT'TOWN ON SPEY WAS UNBEATABLE, ,, NOT ANY MORE. . BUT GOOD MEMORYS,

Edited December 15, 2015 by tjones3862

[johnrussell84 2,764]

Yep them days are done been around that way and heading onto Forfar etc the numbers have long fallen. Have a mate in Caithness said the same. I spent all summer driving around knocking doors An when run out of fuel money spent the other half ringing farms trying Campbeltown etc all with the same outcome the rabbits don't seem to be here only on wee pockets now

[Neal 1,784]

When I moved to where I now live in South Hampshire and got myself a little piece of permission there were easily enough to keep the kelpies and ferrets happy. Lots of the fields, especially those bordering copses were devoid of crops around the edges for ten yards or more sometimes. That was only about ten years ago but now I can go for months without spotting a rabbit on there. I only ever took a few each outing...partly because I walk there so didn't want to carry a lot, partly because I'm only allowed one shelf in the freezer , and partly because my dogs aren't fast enough . It's gradually shrinking because of a housing estate but I would have thought there'd still be enough for little me and my dogs. Oh well...I'll just stick to squirrels then! ​​

[levigsp 938]

When I moved to where I now live in South Hampshire and got myself a little piece of permission there were easily enough to keep the kelpies and ferrets happy. Lots of the fields, especially those bordering copses were devoid of crops around the edges for ten yards or more sometimes. That was only about ten years ago but now I can go for months without spotting a rabbit on there. I only ever took a few each outing...partly because I walk there so didn't want to carry a lot, partly because I'm only allowed one shelf in the freezer , and partly because my dogs aren't fast enough . It's gradually shrinking because of a housing estate but I would have thought there'd still be enough for little me and my dogs. Oh well...I'll just stick to squirrels then! ​​

So my sugestion is that next time you do catch a couple take one fresh to the ministry vets to test for VHD anti bodies,

I have done exactly that with rabbits from, Caithness, Sutherland, Suffolk and all tested positive!

The rabbits simply vanish from an area without any outward signs.

[LOL 212]

 

Blair gowry 10 years ago

 

YOU WILL NOT GET THAT NOW,, WELL NOT THAT EASY,, , FROM PERTH TO GRANT'TOWN ON SPEY WAS UNBEATABLE, ,, NOT ANY MORE. . BUT GOOD MEMORYS,

Yes we will still have our memories of the good time When all the shushi have gone

[Gret 3]

New on here boys so bear with me , reading it for years thort I'd add my two penneth , was stacks of rabbits round south Yorks twenty years ago plenty to go round , was good group of us round our end into ferreting , shooting , dogs etc , now only few still at it just no numbers at all what with mixi don't know about vhd here yet but big rabbit decline also lot more people out and about like there dint used to be bloody walkers , mountain bikes , scramblers , bunnies judt seem to have disappeared from these areas lucky to go out wi ferrets and get a couple for pot ?

[The one 8,395]

Aye we used to have great time my uncle was a handy man at a estate at new Scone nine farms like a giant horse shoe we were up every week end and got great numbers now we go to Montrose still doing okay but its a two hour haul each way

[LOL 212]

New on here boys so bear with me , reading it for years thort I'd add my two penneth , was stacks of rabbits round south Yorks twenty years ago plenty to go round , was good group of us round our end into ferreting , shooting , dogs etc , now only few still at it just no numbers at all what with mixi don't know about vhd here yet but big rabbit decline also lot more people out and about like there dint used to be bloody walkers , mountain bikes , scramblers , bunnies judt seem to have disappeared from these areas lucky to go out wi ferrets and get a couple for pot

Yes allways used to bump in to some body out with the dogs and have the crack Now i never see any body out.

[scutty96 313]

When I moved to where I now live in South Hampshire and got myself a little piece of permission there were easily enough to keep the kelpies and ferrets happy. Lots of the fields, especially those bordering copses were devoid of crops around the edges for ten yards or more sometimes. That was only about ten years ago but now I can go for months without spotting a rabbit on there. I only ever took a few each outing...partly because I walk there so didn't want to carry a lot, partly because I'm only allowed one shelf in the freezer , and partly because my dogs aren't fast enough . It's gradually shrinking because of a housing estate but I would have thought there'd still be enough for little me and my dogs. Oh well...I'll just stick to squirrels then! ​​

It's sad too see all the little housing estates going up in the Hampshire westsussex area in spots I've mooched about in growing up, in the last few years it seems any little field on the outskirts of towns are getting built on, and the rabbit numbers seem to get worse each year, although there are pockets where they still seem to thrive, it's just often on nature reserves

[Gret 3]

Yes lol all of the old boys gi up wi dogs , still a few young uns round our way keeping it up with dogs which is good to see what wi all the bad press . Talking of rabbit numbers used to have some cracking perm up dales till farmer died , used to walk up valley ferreting on way up getting good 10-12 no digs hardly , get to top look oer dry stone wall clap your hands , **ck me there would be 100 plus rabbits pegging it , spend few more hours doing some good 20-30 holers hardly any digs finish day with good 40-40 rabbits them were the days . Anyone know if still same numbers up south dales ?