Drop off in rabbit numbers.

[Triggermortis]

Rabbit 'disappearances' in Kent may be due to deadly virus

One naturalist says there are areas of Kent where rabbits are "just not there any more".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Smellydog]

Deliberately brought in from China and spread by forestry and large land owners.

 

[Demetrius]

Is that true? There were still a few around Winchester last summer........I practically lived on wild rabbit for a while back in the 70's...

D.

 

[Mike1979]

RHD has pretty well wiped out rabbits on a lot of ground in Mid Wales...pockets are still there but nowhere near the numbers we used to have.

 

[Dunwaters]

How many would you like?
Garden is full of the little shites, digging holes for the mower to get stuck in and eating everything in sight.
I’ve trapped and shot nearly 20 so far and not made a dent in them.

 

[finbar]

Am very lucky still got healthy amounts of rabbits on few hill farms 3 smallish fields worth

 

[timbrayford]

Apart from odd pockets of them rabbit colonies are pretty much gone from the Isle of Wight, just see a few twos and threes where there used be 50-100 or more!

 

[dryan]

How many would you like?
Garden is full of the little shites, digging holes for the mower to get stuck in and eating everything in sight.
I’ve trapped and shot nearly 20 so far and not made a dent in them.

Send me as many as you can! Absolutely wiped out here just one small field that still has a few in the summer. 12 years ago the local gun club shot over 1,000 in a weekend.

Great sport with the .22 of a summer evening!

 

[Dunwaters]

Send me as many as you can! Absolutely wiped out here just one small field that still has a few in the summer. 12 years ago the local gun club shot over 1,000 in a weekend.

Great sport with the .22 of a summer evening!

Both RHD and myxie are cyclical here. I have a fair sized pocket locally. I have a steady stream of takers for anything I trap, but they get very trap shy.

 

[Nickb]

Still plenty on my permission, lucky really.

 

[Heym SR20]

Scotland at turn of century was over run with rabbits. Very few about these days. They do resurge from time to time in certain localities, but they soon disappear again.

 

[dryan]

Both RHD and myxie are cyclical here. I have a fair sized pocket locally. I have a steady stream of takers for anything I trap, but they get very trap shy.

I’ve been in this parish for 10 years now and rhd still seems to stop them from getting to shootable numbers. I was over in Cheshire at the weekend and my old shooting ground that was also riddled with rabbits is still devoid of them. Always saw the odd mixie one bit there appeared to be good resistance in the general population.

 

[Nickb]

Scotland at turn of century was over run with rabbits. Very few about these days. They do resurge from time to time in certain localities, but they soon disappear again.

I used to shoot thousands in the Borders in the 80s and 90s before keepers dropped RHD and decimated them.

 

[Nickb]

Myxy still rears its ugly head now and again but fortunately no RHD

 

[Lone wolf]

I'm fortunate to have an abundance of rabbits kicking about on my patch, over the last 3 years ive taken about 1500 and they still keep coming

 

[Nickb]

I'm fortunate to have an abundance of rabbits kicking about on my patch, over the last 3 years ive taken about 1500 and they still keep coming

Yep similar to me , shot 1735 in last 3 years and still plenty.

 

[finbar]

The rabbit a bit like the mackerel easy to catch or was & gets youngsters hooked on fishing or hunting
We spent Wor youth on waste pit land hunting rabbits hare un till I am where I am now … so av got a lot to thank the humble rabbit for
Long live the rabbit

 

[Thunderstick]

Pretty much gone around here, lucky to see one now. Few years back you could happily go out and double figures every night of the week if you wanted.

 

[Sol]

I actually mistake young hares for rabbits now there's that bloody many over here.... not sure the last time I seen a genuine rabbit tbh probably the last time I shot some what was 3 years ago.

 

[Lone wolf]

Yep similar to me , shot 1735 in last 3 years and still plenty.

I don't take it for granted that's for sure! It's a crap job but someone's got to do it