samboy Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 Hi gang. I have not seen a Rabbit for well over 3 months. I'm over the fields and woods with my Whippet and Lurcher every day. God knows where they have gone. I can only assume it must be something to do with the weather. Anyone else not seen any .. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 Have you caught them all? People used to only hunt them during certain times of the year, these days they are being hunted 365 days a year. Theute ferreted, coursed, trapped, shot, lamped at night and now even they are getting hammered by night vision and thermal. On top of that there are new diseases that weren’t around before to wipe them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spurs 14 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 I’m on Suffolk / Cambs border here and we havnt had much in the way of rabbits for couple of years odd ones about but nothing like it used to be , hares are like rocking horse sh@@e , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 There are plenty of rabbits where I live. I have been asked by a couple of farmers recently to deal with some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy91 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 Suffolk/ Essex border and there's none, wasn't all that long ago there was more than I could keep on top of. Can't remember the last time saw a hare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem1234 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 I heard some game dealers are paying £4 for them due to the general shortage of them !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontastic Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 2 hours ago, Lloyd90 said: on top of that there are new diseases that weren’t around before to wipe them out. RHD & VHD are much more lethal than mixy. Where as some rabbits seemed to survive mixy the new diseases are much more efficient killers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) I know lads that used to be out every night with the hmr and thermal . They shot everything in sight in the back side /guts /where ever and chucked them in the ditch. 30-40 a night for weeks on end thinking it’ll last. People like that haven’t helped and disease has destroyed it. the farmer said to thin a few out but that’s it. They like to see a few about themselves. ill add I use the hmr /lr etc and have been known to have 30 an hour but when I see the numbers reduce I give them a break and let them carry young . Edited December 31, 2019 by team tractor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 Here today gone tomorrow. As said RHD will wipe the lot out almost overnight and they die in the burrows so rarely found above ground. The only likely survivors are very young which of course then take time to build up again. I have recently seen a lot over in Lincolnshire where I don't normally see many and think the disease situation causes this high and low population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 5 minutes ago, Walker570 said: Here today gone tomorrow. As said RHD will wipe the lot out almost overnight and they die in the burrows so rarely found above ground. The only likely survivors are very young which of course then take time to build up again. I have recently seen a lot over in Lincolnshire where I don't normally see many and think the disease situation causes this high and low population. We haven’t seen 1 for months on the shoot. Gave up taking rifle. we had 12 in an hour last year then nothing since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 I got a call a week or so sgo to say they had reappeared on a piece of ground I was shooting 20-25 an evening a couple of years ago until RHD hit and they vanished. I have another small plot where I just keep them off the posh lawns and they have disappeared as well, no doubt RHD. 15yrs or so ago I could guarantee 40 to 50 shots a night from my ATV but RHD came in and wiped the farm clean in less than a week. Never really recovered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Prawn Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Was beating on Saturday and there’s an enormous Warren which has been empty this year, the little dogs flushed a good few rats out of there so there can’t be any rabbits left at all as I can’t see them sharing their home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Looking at the year total on here and it’s really low. You’ll notice that most are 4-6 bunny’s a night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 I have a number of farms I have shot for 30+ years, rabbit numbers on most have completely collapsed, in the past you could see 30-40 rabbits sitting out in the late summer sunshine, lucky if I see two or three now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 When I was looking around for Pigeons in the Summer we had more rabbits than I had seen for ages , some of the Barley fields had been stripped out 30 / 40 meters from the hedge rows , I reported the amount several times to the farm manager and the keeper but with the minimum staff andwith the harvest that was about to begin there was very little done about it , yes they did rifle a few but that was just to show willing , that was during the Summer , are there the same numbers now ? , that I can't say , but with Spring not that far off we will soon find out . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer425 Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Plenty around where i go shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Yep and here in Buckinghamshire field was crawling with them today. No pigeons or corvids though and I wasn’t out for rabbits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullard83 Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Where I work we have an abundance of rabbits & hares too. I counted 26 hares one day, unfortunately we also have a lot of magpies too that need thinning. Another regular sight I see most weeks are Jays wich I had not seen much of till I came to work in my current job. Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 i have lots of rabbits, its just getting out after them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 10 minutes ago, mossy835 said: i have lots of rabbits, its just getting out after them. Well as you are not having much success on the pigeons, why not try your luck on the rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpy22 Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 11 minutes ago, mossy835 said: i have lots of rabbits, its just getting out after them. You need someone with a rifle dave😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 2 hours ago, old'un said: Well as you are not having much success on the pigeons, why not try your luck on the rabbits. thats what im going to have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 04/01/2020 at 16:16, bumpy22 said: You need someone with a rifle dave😉 hi mate. i want to have fun with the shotgun,and give the ferretes ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpy22 Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Now is the time mate. Another month and there will be young everywhere. With it being mild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 46 minutes ago, mossy835 said: hi mate. i want to have fun with the shotgun,and give the ferretes ago. Good to see someone keeping the old field sports going (ferrets) I have a mate with a few but he is too busy with his rifle and they struggle to get out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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