No rabbits and loads of foxes

mrs.machine

Just got back from a half hour "walk" with the dog, I only saw 1 rabbit but 3 foxes. Are the rabbits scarce in other parts of Cork? All I seem to see lately is foxes every time I turn on the lamp. I drove to 3 different spots recently and saw more foxes than rabbits.

greengrasscork

The rabbits are populated heavy in places ive been lamping a place with my hounds and its alive with rabbits first night picked up 22 second night got 19 out no longer than an hour each night and only 10mins max walk from where parked in farmers yard and hunted different fields both nights the rabbits have taken over the farm never seen so many in all my time hunting.

The Aussie

The rabbits near me are in need of a bit of thinning out, I've been giving the fox a bit of a flogging of recent to try and help out the grouse, so no foxes have given the rabbits a bit of breathing room.

hedzball

Rabbits are poorly round me..

Seeing a nice few out dunmanway/clon but its all foxes here!!

mrs.machine

So it looks like I'll have to thin out the foxes and do a bit of travelling in the meantime..:-/

The Aussie

Yeh if you want Rabbits you have to take the pressure off them predation wise.

But....

It's getting a bit late in the year to be hunting Fox in my opinion, I will be having another serious chat with them again in May some stage, will also be leaving the odd Crow in the Hedge and keeping a eye on if they disappear, the Crow is also a easier meal than a Red Grouse, that way I can roughly gauge the numbers of Fox and Cats about. Although I know blokes who will be after them all year round, each to his own on this potential can of worms.

Ed Sheeran

I was out in the car last night around blarney and saw 4 foxes walking acros the roads.
Where we usually go lamping, there's hardly no rabbits there compared to last year.
We wouldn't be going for as much as 20 a night as some others, we'd only look for maybe 5 a night cause we only feed them to the dogs.
The farmer must have spread mixie around the place.

hedzball

Ed Sheeran wrote: »

I was out in the car last night around blarney and saw 4 foxes walking acros the roads.
Where we usually go lamping, there's hardly no rabbits there compared to last year.
We wouldn't be going for as much as 20 a night as some others, we'd only look for maybe 5 a night cause we only feed them to the dogs.
The farmer must have spread mixie around the place.

How?.





'hdz

Birdnuts

hedzball wrote: »

How?.





'hdz

They usually pick up a sick rabbit from an affected area, and let it off on their farm. Seems to have been a bad year for mixie in general. Some reckon its worse in wet summers as it means rabbits spend more time in burrows were conditions allow easier spread of the pathogen.

hedzball

Birdnuts wrote: »

They usually pick up a sick rabbit from an affected area, and let it off on their farm. Seems to have been a bad year for mixie in general. Some reckon its worse in wet summers as it means rabbits spend more time in burrows were conditions allow easier spread of the pathogen.

Do they really bother thou?..

I mean not down round my parts .. I know the midlands are destroyed..

the wet is what i figured most said to it



'hdz

Birdnuts

hedzball wrote: »

Do they really bother thou?..

I mean not down round my parts .. I know the midlands are destroyed..

the wet is what i figured most said to it



'hdz

It was certainly done back in the day(70/80's) - possibly not as much now, though I've heard from a few lads in a local GC that mixie suddenly reared its head on some of their permissions last summer after a near 20 year absence!!

charlie10

i know a couple of noble spots for rabbits in cork and other places they have thinned out . if u have young spaniels i would recommend leaving them there,i do shoot them with the rifle dont get me wrong but use the skin for dummies and retrieving etc.

loveta

I know iam late adding my tupence worth here but we had lots of rabbits in my area 5/10 years ago now there totally well IMO wiped out."And the reason" i hear ye ask............. PINE MARTINS. And if ya think mink were bad these bad ass's are in a league of there own and as viscous and article i ave ever come across.

mrs.machine

I don't know about Ireland but our laws are often similar to England where it's illegal to intentionally spread a disease in animals, this includes transferring myxi rabbits from one area to another. Anyone know for sure?

An truicear tochasach

mrs.machine wrote: »

I don't know about Ireland but our laws are often similar to England where it's illegal to intentionally spread a disease in animals, this includes transferring myxi rabbits from one area to another. Anyone know for sure?

Sure but like a lot of laws in Ireland.......

I have the same problem re bunnies - wasn't out for a few months and there are a couple of spots that were overrun with them have hardly any (that I can see at any one time). And yep- I have spotted a couple of foxes around so they're probably the cause. I've also spotted a couple of feral cats hanging around.