pegasus bridge Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hi all, the rabbit numbers near me have collapsed over the last couple of years, warrens empty and no sign - I could regularly lamp 50+ and the last few outings I’ve not even seen one! this is the notts / Leics border area, what is it like where you are ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrastu Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Empty Has been for last 2 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdom Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Very sparse.Frightening really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr gen Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Same here very few along Herefordshire, Shropshire, Welsh border. It has probably been 4 years since any great number were about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Reasonable numbers early summer then hit bad by mixi, haven't seen any for about 5 month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Come and go. The main reason is RHD which wipes them out completely and very quickly, leaving just a few young ones about. Numbers never seem to recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 i have a few down here, but not been out with the ferrets yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 1000's this time last year saw 2 yesterday.. mixy devastated the whole west side, the remainder need to get on with what rabbits do best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Sharpe Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) It depends on your view I guess, I have plenty enough to shoot, but I'm getting bags of about five every trip. (about two hour visits, twice a week) Others might expect much bigger numbers. The evidence is there in every field though, holes and scrapes everywhere, damage to crops very obvious. Edited February 17, 2019 by Major Sharpe More to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 What's a rabbit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted February 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 26 minutes ago, Major Sharpe said: It depends on your view I guess, I have plenty enough to shoot, but I'm getting bags of about five every trip. (about two hour visits, twice a week) Others might expect much bigger numbers. The evidence is there in every field though, holes and scrapes everywhere, damage to crops very obvious. I’d be happy to even see signs of them right now! A large bank once littered with warrens and rabbit activity over 600 yards is devoid of any sign, it’s been a total collapse of rabbit populations that I am seeing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpy22 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 37 minutes ago, mossy835 said: i have a few down here, but not been out with the ferrets yet. Going to be too late dave. Better get a shift on or you will be digging. We have a few areas with large numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Sharpe Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 I have one permission where I have never seen a rabbit, and I have been shooting it for four years (corvids mostly. It's a sheep farm) just before Christmas, a big fat rabbit hopped out in front of me. I was so surprised, I just watched it. It clearly depends on the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 There are virtually none here in my part of mid Norfolk, has been the same for about 5 years. They did show signs of rallying last year with increased digging activity but that ended in the autumn. A bit further afield, during the season out beating I saw the odd one or two pushed out of cover but no where near what you used to see. On one of my permissions on the border with Suffolk, he reckons he's never seen so many and is out lamping them himself most nights. I might go ferreting there next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nmb Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Barely seen a rabbitnin the last 10 years however they started to recover last year but now nothing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D3ave Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Very few rabbits here, which makes me wonder what the rising number of raptors and foxes are feeding on. More strain on game birds and ground nesting birds maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 yes bumpy i know mate, but have lots of fames to get round,with pigeons on rape witch seems a dead loss at the momment.will have to start soon or wait till next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 10+ years ago some of the farms I shoot on used to have big numbers, you could go out midday and work the hedgerows with the dog and come back with half a dozen or more if you wished, on a couple of the farms if you took the rifle you could fill the back of the motor with rabbits, about 10+ years ago we had a really bad outbreak of mixy that swept through the area, it virtually wiped them out, they stared to recover about 5-6 years ago but about 3 years ago they seemed to disappear overnight, there were no signs of mixy rabbits above ground so I can only assume it’s the dreaded RHD. Will be interesting to see if I can see a few young rabbits running around the hedgerows come May/June. Cut and pasted from a veterinary website. Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD) has evolved to survive outside of a host for over 200 days and can survive cold temperatures. The virus can live on pretty much any surface at all, this includes shoes, clothes, dogs, cats, hay, the feet of wild rodents and birds, grass, dandelion leaves etc. Viral haemorrhagic disease is caused by a virus, the incubation period is up to three days, although some may die suddenly without any clinical signs. Symptoms can include anorexia, fever, loss of interest and lethargy. There may be a mucoid foaming at the mouth or a bloody nasal discharge, difficulty breathing, convulsions and finally coma, very few rabbits survive this acute phase but die a few weeks later of liver disease and jaundice. VHD has two strains, RHD1 and RHD2. RHD1 has long been established in the UK, kills quickly and has a 100 per cent mortality rate, whereas RHD2 is an emerging strain that kills slowly, has a mortality rate between 20 and 50 per cent and also kills baby rabbits. Over the past year there has been an increased number of RHD2 outbreaks in the UK. RHD2- The virus appears to have mutated into a strain which kills the host more slowly. This means that the virus is present in a single rabbit for a longer period of time increasing the rate of infection between animals. While RHD2 does appear to a have a lower mortality rate than RHD1 it is no less dangerous and needs to be vaccinated against. Many vets are still not aware of this new strain of RHD2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cm76 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Had a big decline in the past few years in this area use to plenty to go at but numbers are limited now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Practically none Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 havnt seen a rabbit here for 18mths................but i see fresh dead deer ...road kill every week....52 weeks/year.........i can take you up the road to lingwood now and show you at least 5 carcasas......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdom Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Just curious.Where did the RHD come from?Was it introduced by man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy91 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 I've seen one in the last 6 months or so, ran across the road the other night in front of me and as there was nothing behind me I stopped and let him on he's way. Would be nice for the numbers to come back enough to be able to take a couple for the pot every now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 10 minutes ago, wisdom said: Just curious.Where did the RHD come from?Was it introduced by man? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_haemorrhagic_disease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 East Yorkshire very few, they are still there but in much lower numbers than even five or six years ago. There are some hot spots but they can be there one year and all gone the next. Hares are doing well, but a lot are rifled to keep the dog men away, mainly due to their habit of driving 4x4's all over arable fields and their general disregard for the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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