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Rabbits gone

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  • 19-02-2020 3:00pm
    #1
    Asus1
    Registered Users Posts: 557 ✭✭✭


    Hows the rabbit population doing in your area.Have you noticed a drop or increase or is it stable.Where i am i noticed last spring something wasn't right,fields that once had a good population of rabbits were nearly empty bar a few here and there.
    This carried on all year so much so that i never shot 1 rabbit as numbers were so low.With this winter being so mild i thought i might see them around again,but no very few knocking about.Has RHD landed the killer blow around me,hopefully not but its not looking good.
    As an aside i did notice a big increase in hares around my family land,dont know the reason but it was great seeing so many about.


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    #2
    J.R.
    Registered Users Posts: 2,333 ✭✭✭J.R.


    Rabbits now practically wiped out on all the permissions I shoot.

    I have four very large farms where there were many, many rabbits.

    One farm was "alive" with rabbits - could see 20 - 30 any evening in each field. Haven't see one rabbit there for last two years.

    The same on two other permissions that had a good population of rabbits - see none now.

    On another farm which was once "infested" with rabbits I've seen none for a long time - however I saw two young rabbits out along a hedge the week before last. The only two I saw. I haven't seen the adults but obviously they must have bred and be there. I've seen these two young rabbits about three times over the past two weeks but never the adults or any others....hopefully they are making a slow recovery.



    I don't bother going out to try to shoot rabbits now with the rifle. I'll give them a chance and hopefully numbers will recover.

    On a sidenote - those four "rabbit" farms I shoot on all had a large population of buzzards and two had 3-4 feral cats wandering about. I often saw six buzzards circling overhead in mid-summer. I see very few buzzards on these farms now and no cats - must have all moved on to get food elsewhere when all the rabbits disappeared.

    The rabbit is on every predators menu - so the fox, feral cat, stoat, mink etc. and birds of prey must definitely be feeling the impact of this rabbit disease with less food about

    I've also seen more hares around....no idea why.


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    #3
    Cass
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 28,456 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cass


    My shooting is split between mountain areas and lowland open fields. The Mountainous areas never had rabbits but the other permissions were swarming with it. I mean i could shoot from dawn till dusk, ru out of ammo, go home get some, come back and keep shooting.

    Now its getting scarce. There are still rabbits but it requires walking, stalking, and waiting. There are only two others guys, friends, on the permission but even they say it's dried up a lot in recent years.

    I've tried to figure out the causes and even stopped shooting, as have the other two, to give the population time to recover in case its overshot, but with changes in farming, the disappearance of hedgerows and possibly some other factors i don't think shooting is either the only or even a cause for the drop in numbers.
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    #4
    Asus1
    Registered Users Posts: 557 ✭✭✭Asus1


    Im in kildare and with the rain recently the amount of fields flooded is crazy.So the few rabbits knocking around are now out of their burrows 24/7 which i think makes them alot more prone to illness as rabbits don't seem fond of wet weather and of course they're easy pickings for the predators.


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    #5
    Damoeire33
    Registered Users Posts: 185 ✭✭Damoeire33


    Plenty of them up my way, I seen a big increase after thinning out the foxes over the past few years


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    #6
    m5ex9oqjawdg2i
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,221 ✭✭✭✭m5ex9oqjawdg2i


    Cass wrote: »
    I mean i could shoot from dawn till dusk, ru out of ammo, go home get some, come back and keep shooting.

    Are you that bad? :pac:

    Rabbit population is way down around my area. Rarely see a rabbit now. Fox populations seem to be down too. I don't see any dead bunnies/foxes on the road either.


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    #7
    Birdnuts
    Registered Users Posts: 9,632 ✭✭✭Birdnuts


    I split my time between Kildare(Naas area) for the day job with any free time spent on my few acres in North Mayo. In the former I remember working for the local GC in the 80's and rabbits were very abundant - then mixi hit and numbers dropped sharpish but have stabilized at a lower level in the last 10-20 years. In contrast rabbit numbers have shot up on sand dunes near my place in North Mayo over the last 10 years to the extent that some local farmers reckon they are contributing to the erosion of machair grazing land. Were rabbits have recently rapidly disappeared from permissions, its likely that the RHD virus has played a big role as has been the case in the UK


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    #8
    transit260
    Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭transit260


    i have a jill ferret here ,ive done no ferreting this season with her ,the rabbits have all but dissapeared ,so if anyone in Cork or the surrounding counties have a nuisance number of them im available for clearing lol


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    #9
    happyoutscan
    Registered Users Posts: 5,958 ✭✭✭happyoutscan


    Lot of hare's here in west Mayo, no sign of rabbits.


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    #10
    skipking
    Registered Users Posts: 287 ✭✭skipking


    my area in south kildare is wiped out of rabbits, lucky if you see one. we were out every sunday during the pheasant season
    and never seen a rabbit.


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    #11
    Doctors room ghost
    Registered Users Posts: 4,799 ✭✭✭Doctors room ghost


    I’m in East Galway.used to be plagued with rabbits.they were always on the road.havent seen one in about a year and they seemed to disappear overnight.no shortage of foxes lately.loads dead on the roads and see plenty foxes out at night


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    #12
    Asus1
    Registered Users Posts: 557 ✭✭✭Asus1


    Not just localised in my area so.It must be RHD (maybe).Mad to think some areas might not see a rabbit again or a least for the foreseeable future.


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    #13
    Eddie B
    Registered Users Posts: 1,974 ✭✭✭Eddie B


    Yes same story here in the Midlands. Noticed the lack of rabbits a good few years now. Young rabbits aren't affected, so even if you see a few young rabbits, and think it might be a sign of recovery, sadly it's not. They too will seccumb to the virus in time. There is no sign of rabbits building up an immunity to it either, so things are looking very bleak.


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    #14
    Doctors room ghost
    Registered Users Posts: 4,799 ✭✭✭Doctors room ghost


    Do they die below in the burras that you wouldn’t see them? Our place wiped out suddenly.no rabbit since and they used be everywhere


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    #15
    Asus1
    Registered Users Posts: 557 ✭✭✭Asus1


    Just seen this on fieldsports Britain they are having the same issues over there.Its a great channel as well definitely worth subbing to.
    https://youtu.be/puvCTqo7j94


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    #16
    BuboBubo
    Registered Users Posts: 927 ✭✭✭BuboBubo


    Not a hunter, but live in rural Carlow. Haven't seen a rabbit for a long time, used to be loads of them around. Plenty of foxes though.


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    #17
    Birdnuts
    Registered Users Posts: 9,632 ✭✭✭Birdnuts


    Doctors room ghost wrote: »
    Do they die below in the burras that you wouldn’t see them? Our place wiped out suddenly.no rabbit since and they used be everywhere

    I believe so - which is why it can quickly contaminate a whole colony


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    #18
    Hunter456
    Registered Users Posts: 538 ✭✭✭Hunter456


    around here they are every where. 2 farms i shoot are having problems with them.


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    #19
    Doctors room ghost
    Registered Users Posts: 4,799 ✭✭✭Doctors room ghost


    Hunter456 wrote: »
    around here they are every where. 2 farms i shoot are having problems with them.

    What county is that?im disappointed to see them scarce here in east Galway.Seemingly gone overnight


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    #20
    Hunter456
    Registered Users Posts: 538 ✭✭✭Hunter456


    Doctors room ghost wrote: »
    What county is that?im disappointed to see them scarce here in east Galway.Seemingly gone overnight

    Limerick. Few farms around here seem to have a good stock of them.


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    #21
    Eddie B
    Registered Users Posts: 1,974 ✭✭✭Eddie B


    Hunter456 wrote: »
    Limerick. Few farms around here seem to have a good stock of them.

    Enjoy it while it lasts laddie


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    #22
    Hunter456
    Registered Users Posts: 538 ✭✭✭Hunter456


    Eddie B wrote: »
    Enjoy it while it lasts laddie

    Intend to Iad, was out last on a sheep farm they were every where and out in numbers grazing.


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    #23
    Grizzly 45
    Registered Users Posts: 14,949 ✭✭✭✭Grizzly 45


    Haven't seen a rabbit in my neck of the woods [SE Clare] for at least ten years now.Hares aplenty tho in the off season.

    "If you want to keep someone away from your house, Just fire the shotgun through the door."

    Vice President [and former lawyer] Joe Biden Field& Stream Magazine interview Feb 2013 "



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    #24
    pm.
    Registered Users Posts: 2,140 ✭✭✭pm.


    Almost extinct around westmeath as are the phesents. No shortage of buzzards tho


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    #25
    Eddie B
    Registered Users Posts: 1,974 ✭✭✭Eddie B


    pm. wrote: »
    Almost extinct around westmeath as are the phesents. No shortage of buzzards tho

    Lack of good habitat is a major part of the problem in our area as reguards pheasants. This virus has been affecting rabbit numbers in Westmeath for at least eight years now. Maybe even more.


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    #26
    Jack43
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭Jack43


    They have been cleared out around my place for years remember when younger could shoot 2/3 every evening in a 20 min walk never see any around now just got totally wiped out


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    #27
    mcbain087
    Registered Users Posts: 82 ✭✭mcbain087


    There's been a steady decline in my area on Meath / Louth border over last few years. Only seen a few last year and a lot of the active borrows are now grown over with very little sign of activity.


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    #28
    meathstevie
    Registered Users Posts: 4,772 ✭✭✭meathstevie


    Same here on the Meat / Westmeath border. Spots that used to be alive with rabbits has few or none the last couple of years...


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    #29
    welsummer
    Registered Users Posts: 395 ✭✭welsummer


    Plenty of hares around


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