Trapping Rabbits

[micky 3,325]

 

The bottom ferret was caught in a M6 Fenn some years ago, my wife and me got her out and then back home ,two days later i collared her up and put her back to work i kept her a few years and she was good at her job.

[C.green 3,203]

I used to own a ferret that was found in a fenn trap also seen loads of squrriels and rats still alive in them around the chicken pens if you check the traps regular you find there not as humans as there made out to be sometimes.

[foxdropper 17,092]

That says more about the trapper than the trap though .Too much clearance .Mk 6 fenns were never meant to be rabbit traps just taken on because they passed legal requirements for the job .Caught many hundreds of catches in fenns but in tunnels where they were designed to be used not in bury entrances that are too big .

[micky 3,325]

As i said in an earlier post , some people will make foul catches in Fenns and not know about it , i twigged it years ago and have always wondered if any one else had ?

[C.green 3,203]

It's not so much foul catches either I think mk4 Fenns are underpowered and shite I've watched a few squrriels be perfectly caught that would have had a prolonged death I can only say what I've seen I'm no trapper just use them when I need to as I've said I've had mink pull out of Fenns and ferret get caught in mk6s go on to have long rabbiting careers no matter how well the tunnel is made or how well the trap strikes the fenn isnt doing the job humanely just ask anyone who uses and checks them regularly.

Edited February 20, 2017 by C.green

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Taken a whole lot of critters in Fenns,..Mk 4's and Mk 6's ....

 

Real easy trap to site and to set,...great catchers...quick to use...

 

However,...bearing in mind, the fact, that all traps are subject to human error,..(or sometimes, just plain, bad luck) and can produce foul catches, resulting in an inhumane, slow death,.the Fenn trap has other failings....When I was trapping full time,...every day,....I would make sure that I checked all the killing traps once a day,..and live cages, sited in areas where there were high populations of Grey Squirrel and Rabbits,...twice a day....

Generally this insured, that all captures were dealt with in an efficient manner,...and the traps were quickly re-set,..ready to take their next victim....

 

One morning,..as I left the woods where my trap line was in situ,...I noticed a guy with a lurcher dog walking along the boundary fence...

Not saying he looked suspicious or anything,...(and anyway, nowt to do with me, I was employed to kill vermin,..not be a Keeper),...but I did stop for a moment, to observe what he was up to....It was plain to see that his dog,..a large beast of obvious Deerhound linage, was being held tight on a slip and both parties were heading towards a clearing, on the edge of the wood..

This piece of open ground was home to a large herd of Fallow,....

They were soon on the run....

I heard a beast cry out and it was obvious that the dog had grassed one.

As I say,.none of my fecking business,(it would also be incredibly hypocritical of me,..to object to such a thing),.so, I drove off and made for the next job...

 

I don't know WHY, I turned the old van around and headed back towards my traps ,..but,.. I did....

Possibly I was concerned that someone else might be wandering around the Private woods?

Maybe they would interfere with, or worst still, chor all my precious equipment ?

 

Whatever the reason,...this turning back to check my traps,.illustrated to me in no uncertain terms,.the sheer horror of under powered, Approved Humane killing traps.

 

What I saw, and what I felt,. deeply affected my views on trapping and was destined to start me, on a long journey of discovery.

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by Phil Lloyd

[Torquemada 288]

Err... What did you see when you went back then??

[trappa 517]

Ye, come on phil. Im sat in suspenders here

[EDDIE B 3,128]

I'm guessing the lurchers ballsack in a MK4 fenn.

[moxy 617]

All will be revealed in the next book..........

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

@ moxy....

Edited February 20, 2017 by Phil Lloyd

[Bourne13 4]

Thank for the feed back everyone.

 

P.s I need to know the end of that story ?

[Terrier15 52]

Must be the dogs nuts in the trap...

 

I'm interested to find out where your journey of discovery led you?!

[Torquemada 288]

The dog saw not a deer but a rabbit, gave chase and as the rabbit disappeared down the hole, so did the hounds muzzle. The muzzle met the fenn, hence the bellow of beastly pain.

 

The interesting bit would be how you got it off??

[foxdropper 17,092]

I know this is slightly off topic and a tale that would land you in deep do do nowadays .I once caught a badger in a mk4 by the foot that had ,I guess turned over a wooden tunnel .Acted like a foothold .Always a pleasure releasing them unharmed .

Caught a cat by the neck in a juby and a jay in a rabbit drop box .