major rabbit wipe out and what if anything can be done

[john* 17]

seen plenty of buzzards taking rabbits an young hares

[woodbine 11]

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Google it.Where I live in the notth east of Scotland we used to catch hundreds of rabbits every year.There was regular bots of Myxomatosis most years but the following year the numbers were back as normal.There were rabbits everywhere in our area.Then in the late 1990s gone.you realy do struggle now ,to see a rabbit in our area.I know of "one" place where I can get a few runs at night and I am very careful who I take out with me or tell about this place.Rabbits realy are one of the rarest mammals you will see at night here.

[woodbine 11]

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Google it.Where I live in the north east of Scotland we used to catch hundreds of rabbits every year.There was regular bouts of Myxomatosis most years but the following year the numbers were back as normal.There were rabbits every where in our area.Then in the late 1990s gone.You realy do struggle now ,to see a rabbit in our area.I know of "one" place where I can get a few runs at night and I am very careful who I take out with me or tell about this place.Rabbits realy are one of the rarest mammals you will see at night here.Where I work there is a bit of rough land and there is one doe that has been there for the last 3 years,(she is recognisable by a scar on her nose)she has a burry just yards from our workshop door and we all treat her like a pet as she is quite tame.She has had several litters of young over the last 3 years and we all take an interest in seeing them,any cats are chased away.No one hunts on the land as our workshop is open 12 hours a day,7 days a week yet none of her many young have made it to aduldhood.Young rabbits aparently carry immunity to VHD. which they get from there mothers but this only lasts until they are about 10 weeks old.I believe in continental europe France/Spain ,where the rabbit is valued as a game animal much more than it is here that they are tryng to develope an antidote to vhd.

[Guest chook]

I've noticed a decline local to me as well, but only in certain areas. I think that our local population had that viral haemorragic disease, as well as myxie, a couple of summer's back. Don't know this for certain but we found no bodies on top as you would do from myxie. Nobody shoots them either. We hardly saw any young the year before last, and not many young this year. The other thing that I think could be the problem in the low lying areas near water is the mink. We don't see a lot of mink, well you don't do you! But they are here, and increasing in numbers due to the way my dogs hunt frantically along the river banks. They killed two this year, and I've seen them on the roads as well: something I've never seen before. Not good for the rabbits or us!

 

We have verry few rabbits round our area, its been like this for about 10-15 years now,

there are little pockets where there are a number of them, but there kept quiet about,

simply because if people knew - they would be wipped out again, most of the lads who used to

hunt round hear had to stop, and started going else were - as they realised what was happening.

 

But we do have a verry healthy Mink population, if they get out of hand they are being trapped and

disposed of, but as it stands not much is being done to get rid of them all, even though they are desamating

our local wildlife population - http://www.wigantoday.net/news/killers_on_the_loose_1_787753

 

Having said all that - since not many hunt round my area much now a days,

we are getting a good population of hare back, were as 10-15 years ago, you was lucky if you saw one.