Trapping Tunnels

[Tiercel 6,986]

Right at the risk of opening a can of worms, here goes. I visited a place last weekend that I have not been to for a couple of years, an area of scrub that used to hold a lot of rabbits, till it was hit hard by mixie and VHD a couple of years ago. The upshot is there are now lots of rabbits there again.

 

So I plan to take a few with body-grips for ferret food. The law states that the bg's have to be in a cuddy, all-be-it a bit ambiguous as to the design. I do not have a problem with that, what I do not want to do is catch non target species. Bearing in mind I have never trapped rabbits and do not fancy #6 fenns in warrens principally because there are hardly any there and what are there are mainly old breeding stops.

 

Given the size of rabbits I imagine it would be hard to get a tunnel that would exclude similar size non target species, thinking hedgehogs and cats here, I will not take a by-kill just to get a few target species, to my mind that is just not on. so is there a tunnel /cuddy out there that can make the chances of a by-kill minimal at the least?

 

This may be a rhetorical question, but before I start I would like to find out.

 

TC

Edited April 8, 2014 by tiercel

[micky 3,325]

cats will go anywhere a rabbit can go [and some more ] but seldom do , if you want to be certain net them then you can select what you need

[The one 8,511]

Cats, owls etc still use burrows if your wanting catch and release maybe snares are a better bet . I would set mk6 in the old breeding burrows as they might still be using them as i call day burrows and if pushed will go down the first hole they come across . The problem i had with body grips is i couldn't get the rabbits to enter the cubby it was far easier to put them under a fence they where running threw . If you have them cage traps might be the best way for that ground as you might be able to hide them

[hutch6 550]

Why not use the ferrets that you plan on feeding and some purse nets?

[Tiercel 6,986]

cats will go anywhere a rabbit can go [and some more ] but seldom do , if you want to be certain net them then you can select what you need

I used to net them there in the past, but due to the ground type being old slag and shingle it is really hard to get a peg in.

 

 

 

To be honest I thought about the BG's because they could be more discrete camoed up than most things in the scrub. The area is popular with walkers and even though it is an early morning job there is always someone around.

 

TC

[Grizzly 26]

Can you not just set a couple of cage traps in some cover and bait them?

[heritage 202]

Regardless of the type of trap used there always has to be adequate access for your target species so a restriction of some kind is pointless and just to echo what's been said above, if a rabbit can enter the trap a whole host of other things can too so the risk of the occasional non target catch is something you just have to accept.

You do have a few options such as the notch settings, trigger wire shape, extended cubby ect..

But I doubt they'd work in this particular situation.

Looking at the ground and reading about your concerns I'd suggest a well placed snare that has a stop incorporated into it.

Not only is it more suitable for you it's isn't as costly and its less time consuming & in an area favoured by ramblers you will also find it to be more discreet.

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

..... due to the ground type being old slag and shingle it is really hard to get a peg in

 

Sympathy, mate. My last wife was an old slag and always made it hard for me to get my peg into her

[budharley 945]

 

..... due to the ground type being old slag and shingle it is really hard to get a peg in

Sympathy, mate. My last wife was an old slag and always made it hard for me to get my peg into her

Haha

[The one 8,511]

A metal spike and make the holes for the net pegs ?.