VHD set to decimate our rabbit population!

[Deker 3,450]

5 hours ago, Greyman said:

You are right to a point, but I think there is a much bigger picture than landowners or hunters as rabbits are a major food source for many  predators like bop,s that have just come back from us pickling there eggs with pesticides to the point of near extinction, I believe on the Iberian peninsula they are actually doing things to help rabbits as they have such an effect on the population of Iberian Lynx that are also struggling, it will be a very bad day all round if rabbits disappear as many things depend on them

Whatever any other country wants to do is up to them, the Government in this country wants them controlled and would happily see them gone, they are not interested in keeping some as a food source for anything, and they are certainly not interested in anybody's Sport shooting them!

The Romans imported them and somehow our wildlife survived without them prior to that, I am well aware wildlife has evolved since then to accommodate the whole situation, perhaps whatever relies on them now would like to consider Signal Crayfish, Canada geese, Grey squirrel, Muntjac etc instead!

[dogmandont 9,317]

39 minutes ago, Deker said:

........….and without them you would have no sport!

I’d do just fine without em. lol.

[jiggy 3,207]

If it's native species only wanted then thousands of wild boar should be released on to the land. Which will make rabbit damage seem minor. That will give the farmers something to think of instead of releasing non native diseases on to the land. If one of these genitically modified diseases somehow mutated from rabbits and infected the cattle then  that would could wipe out the beef industry in a short space of time. TB badgers would seem mild then. Who controls these labs that create these viruses and what's to stop one country from developing a virus to kill livestock and wipe out the beef, chicken, pork industry     to damage the economy of one of its enemies?

[Greyman 25,166]

Carp were also brought here for food by the Romans and a multi million pound industry has grown up around them and every effort is made to keep diseases such as Svc and koi herpes at bay, you can't just expect animals to revert to there ancestors from 1000 years ago that's rediculous

[DIDO.1 20,815]

14 hours ago, Deker said:

........….and without them you would have no sport!

Or food 

[Deker 3,450]

5 hours ago, Greyman said:

Carp were also brought here for food by the Romans and a multi million pound industry has grown up around them and every effort is made to keep diseases such as Svc and koi herpes at bay, you can't just expect animals to revert to there ancestors from 1000 years ago that's rediculous

There is no multi million £ industry around the wild European rabbit in the UK, and the Government, many landowners, farmers, stables, Golf courses, etc etc would be very happy if they were gone!

Signal Crayfish, Canada geese, Grey squirrel, Muntjac etc  were not here 1000 years ago, with the possible exception of the Canada, which may have made odd visits.    The fact the rabbit may feed a few animals/birds is unlikely to persuade the Government, many landowners, farmers, stables, Golf courses, etc etc, of their worth, because many of those are multi million £ industries which the rabbit has an adverse effect on!

[dogmandont 9,317]

1 hour ago, Deker said:

There is no multi million £ industry around the wild European rabbit in the UK, and the Government, many landowners, farmers, stables, Golf courses, etc etc would be very happy if they were gone!

Signal Crayfish, Canada geese, Grey squirrel, Muntjac etc  were not here 1000 years ago, with the possible exception of the Canada, which may have made odd visits.    The fact the rabbit may feed a few animals/birds is unlikely to persuade the Government, many landowners, farmers, stables, Golf courses, etc etc, of their worth, because many of those are multi million £ industries which the rabbit has an adverse effect on!

Are you trying to say the rabbit isn’t native to these isles?? 2000 years makes them pretty native in my book. 

[Deker 3,450]

51 minutes ago, dogmandont said:

Are you trying to say the rabbit isn’t native to these isles?? 2000 years makes them pretty native in my book. 

The European rabbit is a Non indigenous species in the UK.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Deker

[jiggy 3,207]

When I was building my house I left the 1 acre sight which was previously farmed grassland that was manured and sprayed regularly grow wild for a couple of year before I levelled the lawns. No sprays, poisons or pesticides and within that time wild flowers, insects, song birds ,pheasants, rabbits, hares, pine martins, foxes, hedgehogs , owls , bats ,sparrow hawks and all sorts passed through regularly on such a small piece of ground. As soon as I sprayed round up on it they all disappeared and I've seen little since except mice, rats and magpies and starlings. Spraying weed killer and insecticide decimates the insect population which starts a chain reaction which works its way up the food chain. Take cut away bogland for example. When it was finished harvesting the peat and most of the usable turf was gone thousands of acres of bogland was let go wild and within 10 years there was established heather banks, birch woods and plenty of wild flora and the drains eventually clogged up with silt creating wetland for wildfowl. Alls you would have to do is stand there on a dusk summers evenings and the amount of insects is unbelievable which improves the eco system for all other animals.

Edited November 14, 2018 by jiggy