Rabbits are one of the most common mamals through out britian and Irelandeven the small isles. Rabbits were introduced into Britian by man during the twelfh centry to be bred in captivity for their meat and fur, but they managed to escape from their enclosed man made warrens and established wild colonies and these proved to be very successful. By the nineteenth centry the rabbit numbers had increased dramatically this is more than likely due to all our farming methods and crop ratationand the sowing of winter crops.

It is estimated that farmers are losing about 50 million pounds per year winter wheat, barley, and oats are the most vulnerable.Rabbits can damage or kill nursery stock and young trees and damage to the bark of large trees can be just as serious.In extreme circumstances rabbits may prevent natural regeneration in woodlands.

LEAGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Under the wild mamals protection act 1996 it is an offence to intentionally inflict unnnecessary suffering, as specified by thr act on any wild mammal. UNDER SECTION 12 OF THE PESTS ACT 1954 , IT IS AN OFFENCE TO KNOWINLY SPREAD MYXOMATOISISTO UNINFECTED RABBITS.

Shooting is a very effective method of rabbit control. The ground game act 1880 gives an occupier the right to shoot rabbits on his land during the day and to authorise in writing one other person to do so. The person must be a member of the house hold or staff or be smployed for reward.

SIGNS OF PRESENCE

BURROWS; interconnecting to form a warren system of which some or all may be hidden in scrub.

SCRAPES; small excavations, usually with one or two droppings amoung the excavated soil.

RUNS: pathways where the repeated passage of rabbits has suppressed the vegetation.

FUR: either caught on fencing or thorns or torn out during fighting.

DROPPINGS: spherical pellets 7-10 mm in diameter composed largely of undigested plant remains

LATRINES: heaps of large number of droppings.

FEEDING grazing of vegation and barking of shrubs and trees.

In the early part of the twentieth centry trapping was attempted to conrol the estimated population of 50-100 million.

Myxomatosis was introduced to briton by man via a amercian rabbit beliving that it would dramicallity reduce our rabbit population and it seemed to be working as sick rabbits were being found everywhere, infact it seemed to be working so well that infected rabbits were introducedto Australia and eventually to France and that is how it spread all across Europe.

Today rabbit numbers in Britian are on the increase again even though myxomatosis is still aroud it is not as leathal as it once was as rabbits seem to have built op a sligt immunity to myxomatosis and the can make a full recovery passing the immunity on to their offspring.

This is how the modern day trapper can rapidly bring rabbit numbers under control.