Rabbit Problem

Stick this in the Hunting forum and there will be plenty of lads looking to sort it 4 u. In terms of disease it probably won't be long till they get infected anyway with the likes of RHD which is spreading fast across the country.

You’ve obviously have never seen a rabbit suffering from mixamatosis.

I suppose we could call Tom? Is there anything to be said for saying another mass?

Sweet Jesus

You’ve obviously never had to kill them by hand when seeing them mowing or bailing during the Summer when they are running about blind and dehydrated. Apply to your local Garda station for a rifle license or ask your local gun club to help ye.

I could do with a few here to maintain the lawn.

@Base price Have you tried Napalm first thing in the morning? It smells like .... Victory

Not a rabbit to be seen here in my area of East Clare. Loads of foxes though. Like I say, loads of foxes. The foxes will will work for free.

None here either but only a few miles away in the really sandy ground there are thousands of them almost plague like. Plenty of foxes here too but I don't know how they'd even make a dent in the population.

Rabbits are not a common sight around our farm anymore (South East). Used to be far more years back.

There are no hares or rabbits around here. The last 2 hares were rounded up late last year for the 'sport' of coursing. Unfortunately some neighbours allow netting for beaters to frighten this inoffensive creature into nets to be tortured.

A lot could have changed in 14 years.

It was one of the club members who informed me that they only captured two in our locality, thinking I would be sympathetic - he wasn't expecting me venting my fury at the barbarity.

I only came across one hare while out and about herding last year, I don't expect to see any this year.

Well there is coursing near me, that's why the hare population is extinct around here. Ever wonder why they dont return any to their native habitat when they're done having their "fun" with them.

anyhow the OP's topic is on rabbits.

Well you’re completely wrong there, the hares are returned to where they came from, 9 times out of 10 department officials are there to ensure it. There are vets at the meetings to ensure the hares are healthy before the meeting, they are fed well including oats between catching and releasing. And will be coursed 3/4 times between being caught and released. There’s also a massive escape route for them at the end of the field which I’m pretty sure isnt usually available to them when being chased by a predator in nature.

No dates showing because the coursing season is over since the first week of February. It is completely normal for hares to disappear from an area for periods of time, its nature. If there is a lot of hares in an area predators will move to this area, hares will be killed or move to a different area and the same will happen in the new area over a period of time. Im not trying to take a personal dig at you as I know you’re a long time contributor here and have made some excellent informative posts but put yourself in your neighbors shoes and someone who isn’t well informed on farming attacked you over how farming cattle is barbaric and cruel, how would you take it?

The last part of your post sums it up. I used to try to get my point across about things like farming, hunting and coursing over the years but learned that it’s a waste of time. I work with some people that live in a city and wouldn’t know a cow from a cat but they’re able to tell me all about the cruelty of farming and how we should improve things.

Well in some people’s eyes then you may sell up your farm and let your cattle roam free or be called a hypocrite. There 2 reasons any of us farm money and or enjoyment, the same reasons people are involved in coursing. You keep your cattle closed up in a shed or fenced in a field, put them through a crush for tb testing, dosing vaccinating etc and at the end of the day they go and get their head cut off. Coursing people catch hairs, keep them in a fenced enclosure get them to run up a field and at the end of the day release them into the wild. Your comments are reminding me of a woman I heard on the radio when the igb license to catch hairs was up for renewal, she screamed and cried for 10 minutes that they shouldn’t get it when eventually she was asked what is your argument, why should they not get their license her answer was, ‘because I don’t want them to’.