Where are all the Rabbits?

[ezzy6.5]

Every year i have a week, or at least a long weekend stalking up in scotland. I usually fund it by selling the rabbits i shoot throughout the year.
It doesn't look likely this year though. I was out last weekend and never shot a single bunny in 3 hours and last night I managed 4. Even the Golf courses that i shoot on have been really quite. They were about earlier on in the year when i was to busy to get around them but now they have dissapeared compleatly. I'm wondering if they might have had that dissease that kills them underground because i haven't found any dead ones lying around anywhere and no Mixy. Only plus point the Foxes seem to have gone as well.
Any of you guys seing the same thing?

 

[204 Ruger]

Not here mate(North Wales). A couple of my perms have the most ive ever seen in 6 years. Are you near any flood water? One of my perms has been vertually wiped out of bunnies because it has a river all the way around it and during the floods over the past 2 years they all drowned!!

 

[Hornet 6]

I had a good spring and summer on the bunnies, but it has been quiet the last couple of weeks.
This week I have have several phone calls from my fishing club members telling me about drowned rabbits.
Not been able to get over there yet, but it usually means they have mixi.
Rabbits swim fairly well normally, but not if they can't see, will get over tomorrow for a look.

Neil.

 

[SussexFallow]

I have a glut of rabbits on my grounds this year too...

ATB Steve

 

[Groat]

I started work here in Scotland away back in 1994 as a full time Rabbit Trapper on a large Agricultural and sporting estate, over the first four years of my employment here I could easy average around the 12,000 rabbbits per year. All I was rearly doing was taking the cream of the crop so to speak and just managing to keep the tennant farmers from wanting to shoot the Laird (my boss) at dawn.
Around the years 2000 - 2006 I would say that the Rabbits were actualy becoming controled and strongholds in the population were only visible where the best warrens and dry cover was.
Here from 2006 to the present day things have taken a serious turn for the worst. Rabbits started disapearing over night, warrens became deserted and grown over with grass, gundog trainers began to go elsewhere looking for Rabbits in cover and our rough shoots that had previuosly relied on sport from the rabbits where up to 70 per day could in previous years be part of a good mixed bag. They started to dwindle to such an extent that now on any rough day taken here its rare that even a single Rabbit will end up in the bag!
About 4 yrs ago I began to get lets just say a little worried about the decline (no rabbits= no job ) so I just happend to be in my local vets where I asked him what he thought the problem was, his reply was that in that week alone he had 2 pet rabbits brought into the practice that had died suddenly over night, they were both checked out and both were found to have died from what I myself was fearing VHD.
Myxi is a terrable disease but at least some used to recover from it and build up some sort of immunity. VHD is almost overnight with it seems no recovery but the Rabbits are gone. (For now anyway!???)

 

[finnbear270]

VD?, probably all that humping!

 

[204 Ruger]

VD?, probably all that humping!

Could be, a lot of that about in Wrexham...apparently

 

[nell]

Ezzy are you lamping or shooting in daylight?? if the latter could be down to Buzzards, i enjoy lying out for a bit of long range rabbit control and have noticed over the last couple of years the rabbits emerging from cover later in the evening,im thinking its down to avian predation by Buzzards which are for ever on the increase in my area....


Nell

 

[204 Ruger]

Ezzy are you lamping or shooting in daylight?? if the latter could be down to Buzzards, i enjoy lying out for a bit of long range rabbit control and have noticed over the last couple of years the rabbits emerging from cover later in the evening,im thinking its down to avian predation by Buzzards which are for ever on the increase in my area....


Nell

I see very few out in the day on my perms, lots of Buzzards here too. On one piece of land they are most active after 10pm!!!

 

[kkal5000]

Every year i have a week, or at least a long weekend stalking up in scotland. I usually fund it by selling the rabbits i shoot throughout the year.
It doesn't look likely this year though. I was out last weekend and never shot a single bunny in 3 hours and last night I managed 4. Even the Golf courses that i shoot on have been really quite. They were about earlier on in the year when i was to busy to get around them but now they have dissapeared compleatly. I'm wondering if they might have had that dissease that kills them underground because i haven't found any dead ones lying around anywhere and no Mixy. Only plus point the Foxes seem to have gone as well.
Any of you guys seing the same thing?

Victim of your own success??!!
I try to rotate around all my perm's and give the population a chance to build up again.
Of course, the farmer wants them all gone, but wheres the long term fun in that....

 

[bobt]

I saw a rabbit on our drive last night,
odd as we have none within half a mile, for some reason having lived here 22 years I have never seen them,
they are south of us and north of us, and about half a mile, but never here, never understood why.

hares we had one on the doorstep the other week as we have plenty but never a rabbit.

 

[204 Ruger]

I saw a rabbit on our drive last night,
odd as we have none within half a mile, for some reason having lived here 22 years I have never seen them,
they are south of us and north of us, and about half a mile, but never here, never understood why.

hares we had one on the doorstep the other week as we have plenty but never a rabbit.

Think the old saying is if you have Hares you dont have rabbits!! I ahev one permission that is covered in Hares (dont shoot them either) and very few rabbits.

 

[old keeper]

VHD is becoming a real problem. However, when it came through here 10 years or so ago it decimated thte population. This year it was here quite badly but fizzled out after a while leaving several rabbits about. Then it showed up sporadically here and there. Whether it is a different strain I wouldn't know but I think it is a much bigger problem than myxi.
Incidentally there was a programme on Eagle Owls on telly and a guy from Holland said virtually all the rabbits have gone from that country due to VHD.

 

[Dawnraider]

Seems to be plenty here this year and must be the first year i've not seen any myxi,one of the farms i stalk over the guy they had shooting the rabbits had done a bunk so i was asked to pop a few, first evening in 2 hours had 37 next evening in 2 hours 30 with the HMR ,going to have a go with the lamp this week when the wind picks up should be quite fruitful.
Neil.

 

[Cut+Squirt]

I remember a couple of years ago a friend and I shot over 200 rabbits {with a 20 bore + 12 bore} in one day. My shoulder was black and blue. Same area now, not a bunny to be seen. What sport and the farmer wanted to make love to us. Iv never seen rabbits like it since. Mixy destroyed it within a few months..

 

[Gunner]

Same problem as Ezzy6.5 here on my patch in Berkshire. Lots of rabbits earlier in the year but suddenly they have done a disappearing act. I haven't found any mxyi wondering if we have been hit by VHD. Either that or poachers have cleaned it out!

 

[kennyc]

definite reduction in numbers around my way, the warrens that were overflowing last year are empty now, very unusual...

 

[sauer]

a couple of us up here are very lucky in that the local estate lets us do all their rabbits coz the farm ma nager always on their back.

last year we took bout 1700 ish approx over about 4 months ish but had to stop due to the very wet stuff and then the very hard winter...but got out when we could the 4x4 on the parks.

we stopped over the summer and have been asked to start again, so far we seem to have a no bad population of them but not what it was. another small permission we had we put a huge dent in it and had alook last nite and one of the big grass parks is heaving again!!!

excuse my ignorance but what is this VHD your talking bout ?

i had the .22lr for years but only last couple i really used it in earnest and to be honest i love deer stalking but have limited permissions etc and im gonna put my neck on the line and say that one of the best sport you can have is a night lamping with the .22!!!!

also folks just dont eat it enuff!!!! i was always brought up to not waste anything ...if you shot it was for the pot ....obviously 1700 rabbits is bit much so we take for the pot and then rest go to gamedealer......if anything it helps a bit towards fuel or ammo.....

should get hold of that of that www.pakefieldproduce.co.uk dvd ...if anything it promotes rabbit for eating.... and its so easy to prep once you know how


sauer / paul

 

[Groat]

see here; http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/advisorynotes/31/31.htm

 

[Hornet 6]

I had a good spring and summer on the bunnies, but it has been quiet the last couple of weeks.
This week I have have several phone calls from my fishing club members telling me about drowned rabbits.
Not been able to get over there yet, but it usually means they have mixi.
Rabbits swim fairly well normally, but not if they can't see, will get over tomorrow for a look.

Neil.

Ok been over a couple of times now, mixi is about, not really bad yet but I fear the worst
Found a few drowned ones in each of the 6 lakes, not a pleasant way to go for sure.
The dryer areas of my shoot seem fine, a few about yesterday afternoon, certainly a sustainable population.
But I will hold off for a while and see what happens.
What I don't understand is why does mixi show about this time of year, but only when it has been wet, is it the wet weather, or is it do do with the harvest ?

Neil.