Rabbit decline

[Lurcherman332 75]

Well went for a shine tonight mainly to see what the numbers were like on my permission. Out for 3 hrs not the best conditions bit light and wet but all in all seen 2 rabbits and 2 Billy’s which I wouldn’t even entertain with my bitch. Used to be loads of rabbits around mid wales not anymore disheartening is the only thing I can say and hard to get your dog in shape and top of there game when you don’t see nothing. Anybody else seeing a huge decline in numbers around there permission 

[forest of dean redneck 11,183]

Been saying the rabbits are declining  for ages , to many predators and to many people killing them in the summer .

[terryd 8,014]

I think disease is the biggest killer. I think it was 4 or 5 years ago some thing swept through and now with in a 4 mile radius. Th bulk of them have gone. It really decimated them and they haven't come back. This weekend walking hedge i ferreted with me daughter  we had 3 out of this set of holes and had a great bit of sport bolted one under a trough.

Now there is absolutely nothing on the whole farm not a single rabbit. You would have thought by now they would have recovered but nothing

[Saltmoon 2,208]

Places where there was nothing a few years ago down by me there are numbers coming back and farms that had alot of bunnys have nothing left I think there are pockets of them about it's just finding them these days 

[poxon 5,555]

14 minutes ago, Saltmoon said:

Places where there was nothing a few years ago down by me there are numbers coming back and farms that had alot of bunnys have nothing left I think there are pockets of them about it's just finding them these days 

Like round our way farms that were pretty good have nothing left most farms soon as the crops are dropped all the John Wayne’s come out the wood work an plays them An the land is cleared. Land that’s been sat dead for a while there coming back I’ve noticed pockets all over our spots were there’s a few kicking about recently I counted 17 rabbits across a small hedge row I’ve permission on but have noticed land that has no public walking ways through seems to be doing better than other places I’ve notices little pockets all over the place both sheep farms I do there seems to be plenty to go at I think there should be plenty to keep me ticking over I’m no numbers man if I can keep ticking over steady all season I’ll be a happy man 

[abrasivewheel 53]

Mxy, rabbit flu aur rifle brigade  and hunting all year round has done for them in some areas were the grounds tough you find them in half decent numbers . But my real pet hate is hunting lamping nearly all year round . I understand the need for pest control and those that do the job full time or as a matter of course on there permission 

[micky 3,325]

Rabbits will recover if left alone  during the Breeding season  which is between March and September if you do not want any Rabbits on your land then Kill them in the Breeding  season  it is as simple as that .

I accept that in some places Rabbit must be controlled  but as all Farmers Know that Rabbits should be Killed in the colder Months when their numbers are at their lowest  and access to their living  areas  is easier. 

After a lot of years catching Rabbits on thousands of Acres of good Rabbiting land I have only been asked to  help out of season twice , the first was an impossible  situation  and the second was a Television  Personality  who quickly  realised  how much she liked Rabbits when I told her the cost of fencing her Ten Acre Garden .

Where I live people tell me that the Fells were teeming with Rabbits and do not believe me when I tell them there are none but in an effort to redress this situation I have released a few Rabbits and 8 Months on I am seeing the odd one about  including a half grown one in the Jaws of a Cat. 

If all Sports men had this outlook [ and I know a few who do] released  a few Rabbits  over the season  in barren areas what harm would it do ?, 

[Dinosaurs 2,007]

Theyve completely disappeared on my permission saw maybe 10-12 all last season so was leaving well alone but alas farm managers sons have now got guns & have taken out the odd one or two that were left!! Very disheartening walking the fields with no hope of a run. Good number of hares but not my thing. See what this season is like but so far not looking good??!!! Atb

[Lurcherman332 75]

I think people using nite vision has changed the game to you can hit big numbers with nite vision and rabbits don’t even no your there it’s a massive shame used to have huge numbers and it look like they were making a come back this year but towards end of July just seemed to of vanished 

[Greyman 25,093]

Have mentioned this in other threads before, as most of you no I do camera traps as opposed to actuall hunting and what I am noticing is there are a lot of rabbits living in woodlands that I have never seen before many of them never go out onto the fields which is very strange unless they are aware of the infections within the bury,s the woodland rabbits I,m getting seem to live in scrub and not burrow,  also caught a lot of hares that we’re spending the nights in the woods then venturing out during the daylight hours had about 14 hares in a two week period that were bang in the middle of a 1000 acres of woods  and a reasonable treck from the fields I see them in during the day, have been doing the cameras for 5 years now and it’s only the last year that this has been happening

[Greyman 25,093]

Have mentioned this in other threads before, as most of you no I do camera traps as opposed to actuall hunting and what I am noticing is there are a lot of rabbits living in woodlands that I have never seen before many of them never go out onto the fields which is very strange unless they are aware of the infections within the bury,s the woodland rabbits I,m getting seem to live in scrub and not burrow,  also caught a lot of hares that we’re spending the nights in the woods then venturing out during the daylight hours had about 14 hares in a two week period that were bang in the middle of a 1000 acres of woods  and a reasonable treck from the fields I see them in during the day, have been doing the cameras for 5 years now and it’s only the last year that this has been happening

[Sox74 20]

Same thing here where I'm from.

Up until two years ago, there was a good healthy population of rabbits.  Now nothing. Only seen two in the last number of months. 

Theirs hardly anyone around here shooting or hunting, just the odd young lad with a shotgun, and now one ferreting either.  

I found a few dead ones above ground, with no marks on them, or signs of mixy either. 

It's not down to lack of food, farming practices or over hunting. They just seem to die off.

Sad really, you'd miss seeing them about the place .

Atb sox

 

[Greyman 25,093]

My uncle used to breed rabbits for meat during ww2 and when I,ve moved and got settled I,m tempted to start a breed and release campaign I think you can get pet bunny injected against some of the viruses so a few immune bunny’s released around the place may hopefully help out on a local level

[Sox74 20]

15 minutes ago, Greyman said:

My uncle used to breed rabbits for meat during ww2 and when I,ve moved and got settled I,m tempted to start a breed and release campaign I think you can get pet bunny injected against some of the viruses so a few immune bunny’s released around the place may hopefully help out on a local level

Do you think the young of these released rabbits would carry the anti virus in their system's, say to the likes of rvd or rvd2

Any sox

[Greyman 25,093]

9 minutes ago, Sox74 said:

Do you think the young of these released rabbits would carry the anti virus in their system's, say to the likes of rvd or rvd2

Any sox

I,m about as far from a doctor as you can get but I would imaging as with most things the adults would pass a certain amount of immunity on to the offspring, may be the reason I seem to have a bit of a glut of ginger and white bunny’s hopping round in one area I walk, even if they don’t would still add a bit of variety to the gene pool