looks like the myxy is back

Longranger

Went to one of my best bunny spots yesterday looking forward to a mornings hunting. I haven't been up there for about three weeks or so. Only saw one small rabbit and I was surprised as normally there would be dozens of them. I met the farmer on the way out and he said it's been like this for the last week or two. He found dead rabbits all over the place and was really times off as he likes a bit of bunny hunting himself. The place is alive with hares though and I'm wondering if they could be carrying the fleas. One more great spot fecked!:'(

sniperman

Longranger wrote: »

Went to one of my best bunny spots yesterday looking forward to a mornings hunting. I haven't been up there for about three weeks or so. Only saw one small rabbit and I was surprised as normally there would be dozens of them. I met the farmer on the way out and he said it's been like this for the last week or two. He found dead rabbits all over the place and was really times off as he likes a bit of bunny hunting himself. The place is alive with hares though and I'm wondering if they could be carrying the fleas. One more great spot fecked!:'(

hi there,have that dammed disease here as well.ive also heard of a new man made rabbit killer,attacks the inner organs,kills overnight,way to tell is a the rabbit looks grand,no swollen eyes,but blood form its nose,on one of my shoots here it wiped out everything,place used to be alive with rabbits,have not seen one there now for over a year:mad:

Grizzly 45

This is a pretty good answer to Myxi and how it arrived here.Introduced by the Irish dept of Ag in 1954 :rolleyes::mad:.But it explains about "bush rabbitts " as well...


1. Britain's rabbit population is said to have suffered a 95 - 99% mortality rate. Why? Because conditions were extremely good for the " Accidental " introduction of this particular form of Biological Warfare.

Time was one could clap ones hands beside a pasture or growing crop field and watch as a wave of movement disturbed the entire field. That being rabbits, heading back to their burrows in the surrounding hedge banks. LOTS of rabbits.

And, those rabbits all carried fleas. And they lived in close fitting burrows. This enabling, even encouraging, fleas to hop from one host rabbit to the next. (At this point, rub in something about Loui Pasteur. I'm not going to do All of this for ye! LOL! Read some Google and learn things)

So, infected fleas were " Accidentally " introduced to england. Folk legend mentions a walking stick. What ever. It all kicked off in the early 1950's. Just as Parliament was asking questions about ' The Rabbit Question 'and ' The Gin Trap ' .

Result? Bunny Armageddon. 'Whoops; Apocalypse'. They'd sorted the Rabbits out and kicked the feet from under the Rabbit Trappers and their need to employ the, right then, publicly unpopular Gin Traps. Two birds, one stone. Somebody probably got passed a sly Knighthood for that one.

Mortality was rampant because the rabbit's immune system simply had no answer for this laboratory tweaked version of a naturally occurring, South American disease. (But, ye'd know about that. Ye've studied ye Myxi', yeah?).

Rabbits were virtually wiped out.

2. Explain their recovery? Ok. For this ye need to understand rabbits and their habits. See; 'we all know' they live in holes in the ground. At least in Britain they do. And those holes are kept in good order by the action of rabbits passing through them. (I can't stop here to go into that. Or I'll be here all night. Rabbits bodies brushing against the walls and ceilings keep things firm and dry, basically)

But, the rabbits were all dead or dying, horribly. The burrows became underground mass graves. No bunny passage maintenance. They simply collapsed and caved in. Few straggling bun's had no home to go back to. What they did have was a carnal house. No thanks. They stayed outside and struggled to survive.

But, survive they did. The few. They met. They mated. They 'taught' their offspring to live as they were; In bushes. Under sheets of discarded roof iron. Anywhere a rabbit could feel safe.

Of course, some dug new holes. But these were shallow and isolated. Point is; There were so few rabbits left alive, the few that Did survive were likely already isolated from main populations. These were the ones the poisoned fleas never reached. So they hunkered down in their isolation. Grew long hair and scraggily beards. Got wild eyed and sharpened long sticks ..... Well, alright. But, ye get the picture?

And the rabbits who had died rotted away. And, bereft of a host? So did the poisoned fleas. And, little by little, the new families of Survivor Rabbits crept about the landscape. And met up with other pockets of Survivors. And did what rabbits do best.


3.? Here in lies the crux of the matter. As not All the rabbits perished. Neither did the 'Poisonous' fleas. Some fleas managed to lay dormant. Harbouring their virulence. Even as the new generations of rabbits passed down some degree of immunity to Myxi. Fleas passed down a dilute form of Myxi'. Rabbits passed down genetic antibodies. Things reached a sort of uneasy resolution, about thirty years or so back.

But, now we have WW1 / Trench Warfare all over again ~ Check That out for ye next field of study. The rabbits build up in numbers and return to their roots. The roots beneath hedgerows. There they dig their traditional lives of constant passage. Keeping the burrows swept clean and open. And passing fleas amongst themselves.

And it only takes that certain level of population, to bring that certain proximity of just enough rabbits, before the balance tips. And we have that One flea of " Good Breeding ". A Thoroughbred, All singing, all dancing, Trace its blood line right back to Paris, flea. Ground Zero! Another generation of rabbits start suffering this vile plague.

Some shrivel up and die, like the old days. Some get the hell out of there and go Bush, again. Some? They're the true Survivors. They can even develop visible symptoms ..... and then get better again. Continuing to reproduce some Hard Core Resistant Rabbits. Rabbits with that degree more of resistance.

It's taken them half a century to swing the balance, look. They won't buck it in my life, or yours. But, ye gotta hand it to the humble bun; He's a Player!

OUTDOOR MAN

man keeps reintroducing this disease,if me or you did this we would be imprisoned for it,the powerful people of the world always seem to know better than us common folk,more is the pity.

Maudi

OUTDOOR MAN wrote: »

man keeps reintroducing this disease,if me or you did this we would be imprisoned for it,the powerful people of the world always seem to know better than us common folk,more is the pity.

who is re. introduceing it? and why?

thelurcher

Interesting post Grizzly.

Don't laugh now but - do rabbits generally die in their burrows?
I had ferrets for years and never had one lay up on anything other than a freshly killed rabbit - those little bastards wouldn't have passed up a free meal for love nor money.
Did you ever notice that if you happen to wound a rabbit and it makes it to the burrow - if you come back later you'll often find it dead outside.
Now I understand that some are going to die in there but they seem to have the instinct to go outside to when the game's up?

I've been getting myxi rabbits the last few months but they're living in fairly active looking burrows - alongside healthy animals (for the moment at least). I can guarantee that the same burrows will still be in use right through this outbreak and after.

aaakev

Maudi wrote: »

who is re. introduceing it? and why?

A farmer whos land i used to shoot on was catching mixi rabbits where ever he could and was releasing them onto the land he farms. The place used to be great for rabbits before he rented it :-( the first year they did a fair bit of damage but i shot hundreds of them and could definatly see a drop in numbers but he was a hot head and wanted them all gone. I use to go out there 4 evenings a week for the whole summer and could come home with 8-12 rabbits each time but now since he has been farming it you would be lucky to see 2 or 3 rabbits if you walked the whole place :mad: prick

6.5 tikka

can u eat rabbits wit mixy ? not that i would but that question was put to me a while back , i said no but wasnt to sure ,

i shoot this place and ive never seen as many rabbits in one place
i`d be leaving the place wit 60 plus ribbits , only thing is they all have mixy
i think its down to the farmer , think he`s putting it down awfull pitty,
but great shooting they just sit looking at ya lol
ive even had them run between my legs as i was taking a shot at others ,
this place also has black rabbits whats the crack wit that , anyone know?

Cass

Think you can, but would you want to?

Myx is a pox spread from rabbit to rabbit, and humans cannot contract it. However i would not think about eating one myself.

6.5 tikka

Cass wrote: »

Think you can, but would you want to?

Myx is a pox spread from rabbit to rabbit, and humans cannot contract it. However i would not think about eating one myself.

on that farm i was talking about, the farmers son wanted to eat them , and told not to and that i would get him a few nice ones from a different spot i shoot, jayus know i wouldnt be eating them thats for sure , its like a cancer,

have you ever seen black rabbits when your out , i didnt shoot any of them its nice to see them knocking about,