Rabbit numbers

[Mochastorm]

I have made the mistake over the last few years of concentrating my rabbiting activities around a couple of areas.  I usually start ferreting in the autumn following the summer reports of troublesome rabbits.  This season I had no such requests, and my permissions are devoid of rabbits.  I had noticed a decline two years ago when I took six rabbits from a farm that had yielded 63 the year before.  I shoot rabbits in a different area and there too numbers have dropped.  I’ve worked around myxomatosis over the years which would appear and peak every few years but we still had a few in the bag.  RHVD appears to be a far more lethal disease and I can’t remember the last time I caught/shot a rabbit.  From an agricultural point of view this may be welcome, but the simple bunny has provided me with so much sport over the years.

[clakk]

My last perm at Packington <now a Jubilee woods >had not 1 rabbit on over 200 acres and hadnt seen 1 for years ,plenty of empty warrens but rhvd had totalled the population ..Strange but no more had moved in to replace them ,maybe some scientific explanation

[Mice!]

certainly wouldn't call it scientific but most places aren't seeing many rabbits, so its unlikely your going to get rabbits moving into empty warrens because the population isn't high enough.

my question is what are the buzzards eating? See quite a few round my way, but very few bunnies, and the couple of places that does have them are being built on.

[Aled]

Saw the first one I've seen for a while yesterday. See so few these days, they used to offer good sport whilst stalking the hedgerows with an air rifle,  and a lovely meal as well!

Cheers

Aled