Rabbit decline

[shaneg 2,578]

Where I live used to be crawling with rabbits. The field behind my house used to have a 15 yard ring all around the headlands come silage time it was like a golf course. Now you could walk every inch of the place all day every day and never see a rabbit. They all disappear in 2 years it went from thousands of rabbits to nothing. Any idea what would have caused this. We used to be able to catch 20 rabbits a night and 5 nights a week and never leave a dent in them. They disappeared 7 or 8 years ago and we all taught they would be back as good as ever in 2 years time but it never happened 

[shaneg 2,578]

And it wasn’t mixi that done them either they had it every summer and it would take  a few but whatever they got wiped them out 

[smithie 2,443]

I' blame the airguners  with the n.v. and thermal image scopes lol

[Jackknife 824]

1 hour ago, smithie said:

I' blame the airguners  with the n.v. and thermal image scopes lol

Shooters with nv will be the death of this game

[gnipper 6,521]

Vhd.  It's not even worth having a lurcher any more.

[forest of dean redneck 11,694]

4 minutes ago, gnipper said:

Vhd.  It's not even worth having a lurcher any more.

Squirrels will be next 

think rattings way forward

[shaneg 2,578]

12 minutes ago, gnipper said:

Vhd.  It's not even worth having a lurcher any more.

I used to love a night out with the lurchers but the way things are now I can never justify keeping another they just wouldn’t get the work 

[gnipper 6,521]

If they ever recover round here I think I'll get a little terrier based lurcher but for now I'll stick to not having one.

[poxon 5,751]

It’s a mix of everything pal is against them bird of prey,Fox, hunting,vhd virus,mixi,crops, habitat change. 

[Daniel cain 45,933]

2 minutes ago, shaneg said:

I used to love a night out with the lurchers but the way things are now I can never justify keeping another they just wouldn’t get the work 

Ive thought exactly the same about the digging game shane, too many wankers and jealous types bringing it on top for tidy lads..... Thats why the blackdogs are gone, kept a little Russell dog and ive got myself a lurcher pup, got a few lads whos dogs i can dig to keep my hand in

[Aussie Whip 4,132]

I recently bought a small property in Western NSW which is covered in old warrens,locals tell me the last rabbit was seen in the area about 7years ago,used to be infested with them.Higher up in the hills about 1hr away there in plague numbers and always have been.Luckily have secured a couple of good permissions there.They seem to be surviving in colder high country round here.

[Str 793]

How many on here can honestly say when out with the dogs,ferrets,guns they say that’s enough for today with a couple of rabbits? Not many of us! Like has been said everything and one are hunting rabbits,once rabbits are knocked back through constantly been shot,dogged etc then a dose of mixi it’s difficult to come back from especially when folks are still hunting them when they are virtually non existent. In 1980 rabbits round my way were very thin on the ground until a lad who had some good permission in the dales kept bagging rabbits when ferreting and released them at home it worked wonders.worth trying shaneg.

[Terry Ermann 994]

Didn’t mixy wipe out 99% of the population when it was first introduced? They are resilient little critters they’ll bounce back.

[Pirate 9000 676]

We have had 3 poor years for rabbits but this year they have returned in good number's, I think from now on we will value them alot more for the great sport they provide for the lurchers.

[Str 793]

25 minutes ago, Terry Ermann said:

Didn’t mixy wipe out 99% of the population when it was first introduced? They are resilient little critters they’ll bounce back.

That’s  right terry but the world has changed there has been a population explosion more mouths to feed and less land to do it, so most farmers with arable land want no rabbits and are happy for someone to rifle the lot,the pressures on the rabbit population is much greater now than in the 1950s but like you say they are resilient but maybe we should all have a think what the future holds for are kind of hunting.