The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains one of the UK’s most significant agricultural pests. Rabbits belong to the order of mammals called Lagomorpha, which includes 40 or so species of rabbits, hares and Pikas. The European wild rabbit evolved around 2000 BC on the Iberian Peninsula and when the Romans arrived in Spain about 2000 years ago they began farming them for their meat and fur, using fenced enclosures. As the Roman Empire spread they took rabbits and the practice of ‘cuniculture’ with them, even to Britain as the discovery of rabbit remains in a Roman archaeological site in Norfolk confirmed in 2005.
As a species rabbits are great survivors with an annual cycle of ‘boom and bust’. In a single year a doe can produce more than 20 offspring and many of these will breed themselves when only 4 months old. Spring and summer are the main reproductive periods, although with warmer winters breeding appears to have extended. The doe makes a special nest of grass or straw in a dead end burrow usually separate from the main warren. After a 28 – 31 day gestation period a litter of 3 – 8 kits is born – blind, deaf, hairless and hardly able to move. Their mother visits them for only a few minutes every day to suckle them, sealing off the nesting chamber with soil between visits. By the eighth day, the young are covered with fur, by the tenth day have opened their eyes and by sixteen days old they are leaving the burrow and eating solid food. By 30 days old they are weaned and independent and their mother will already have mated again.
However by winter up to 90% of the rabbits born during the summer will have died – succumbed to predators, disease, road causalities and even starvation when numbers outstrip available forage. Some people use this to try and claim that rabbit control is unnecessary, an argument which ignores the damage done by rabbits as they grow. No matter how many half or three quarter grown rabbits get taken by a fox or run over by a car, it doesn’t put back the crops they’ve eaten.
In fact the rabbit is such a serious pest that it is one of the few species that has specific legislation requiring landowners to control it. Under section 98 of the Agricultural Act 1947, Defra has the power to serve a Notice requiring rabbit control to be carried out; if this is not done, they may arrange for the necessary work to be undertaken at the expense of the occupier, who could also be liable to a fine.
The seasonal variation in numbers makes that the most effective time for control from November to March when fewer rabbits are about. Action at this time will reduce the adult breeding population before the next reproduction season begins – each doe killed during this period can mean at least 20 fewer young rabbits born next summer. Also at this time of year vegetation is dying back, making access to burrows easier. Better results will be achieved if adjoining land is managed at the same time in a co-operative exercise. Rabbits do not respect boundaries, and joint action will remove animals that use burrows on one holding and feed on another. The bigger the area controlled the less slower and less likely the rate of re-infestation.
It is useful to think of control methods in three broad groups relating to where you’re going to tackle the rabbits.
At the burrow: If you have access to the rabbit warrens, either on your land or with permission, you have the best chance of high impact control methods. The traditional sport of ferreting is still very popular and can be carried out by professionals as well as amateurs. If done well it can have a big impact on rabbit numbers in a single hit. Spring traps are another very effective approach using approved traps like the FENN Mark VI down inside the openings of the tunnels. You can read more about Burrow Trapping in our Modern Gamekeeping article.
Since the withdrawal of Cymag as a vertebrate control agent, the only commercially available ‘gassing’ agents are formulations that generate phosphine gas on contact with moisture – Phostoxin and Talunex. Both are extremely toxic to rabbits with inhalation resulting in rapid death. Gassing is potentially highly dangerous to humans too. It should only be undertaken by people with the proper training and equipment and cannot be used everywhere. There are restrictions in the use around buildings and water.
In the field: Where the burrows are out of bounds, or so tied up in woods or hedges as to be impractical, you must take the rabbits as they are feeding. Like ferreting, longnetting and lamping with gun or dog have the advantage of being very selective methods. They leave no residual contamination and so provide rabbits that are usually suitable for human or animal consumption. If you can establish a long term arrangement with people you trust and give them regular access, it’s another set of eyes and ears on the land. They will often be out at night and will protect their rabbiting more jealously than you might imagine.
Snares placed on the runs directly, and baited cage traps placed at right angles, are other viable alternatives and a skilled snarer can take a great many rabbits in a couple of nights. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 a rabbit becomes a Protected Animal once it is caught in a trap or snare, making it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering. Traps and snares should be inspected at least once and preferably twice a day and, wherever possible, be placed where the trapped animal will not be exposed to extremes of weather.
At the boundary: As a preventative measure ‘rabbit proof’ fencing can be installed but this is usually costly and rarely 100% rabbit proof. Fencing should be a minimum of 750 mm (2 ft 6 in) high with a further 150 mm (6 in) lapped on the surface of the ground towards the rabbit and pinned to prevent digging under. It is almost inevitable that rabbits will find their way past a fence and there have been reported sighting of rabbits actually climbing mesh fences. The most effective approach is to use fencing in conjunction with drop boxes – a holding box dug into the ground with a tunnel above and a trap door. Placed with the tunnel through the fence this trap creates an artificial route that rabbits will begin to use regularly—at which point the trap can be ’switched on’ and will take a large number of rabbits very quickly. It takes a bit of setting up but once in place will work reliably over a long period. You can read more about this trap with some examples in our rabbit drop traps section
