Thread: Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits..opportunity abounds

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/1...id=app-android

It would help if the long standing government negativity towards industries that can utilise rabbit products was upended to one of support. Same with possums.

I said yrs ago and now,there will be never be enough 22 ammo in NZ to shoot all the rabbits.A old rabbiter down at Holden Station told me one pair of rabbits will multiply to about 300 rabbits a yr.Even with only about a 60% survival rate per litter.Interesting maths ,but when you seen paddocks around the back of Twizel yrs ago,300 could be 3000.

Not many in my area and I shoot every one i see on my property

Many years ago our local council ( Manawatu) gave 5 rounds of .22 ammo per rabbit tail. Was a good incentive as most shooters were well ahead of ammo actually used.

Very few where I live now. A few of the neighbors all do their bit, and the market gardener, orchards, and lavender farm no longer need to net crops to protect them from rabbits (or Pukeko).
The property owners understand the value of having people come onto their properties to kill the rabbits, and its working for everyone. We get to have a shoot, and take home rabbit meat, and they don't need to pay for pest protection.
Only problem now is there is not the numbers to support going out each night, and actually seeing a single rabbit.
I'm only talking 1000 acres, but over a handful of years, 3 very part time (possibly 1-2 evenings a weekend) hunters have reduced the numbers to virtually nothing. Surely this is able to scale to account for larger properties? If not, what's stopping this... terrain, scale, land owners not wanting hunters on their land?

Originally Posted by BSA270

Many years ago our local council ( Manawatu) gave 5 rounds of .22 ammo per rabbit tail. Was a good incentive as most shooters were well ahead of ammo actually used.

Waipa the same with an option of from memory 1 shotgun cartridge per tail.
Didn't buy either for years.
We certainly didn't require 5 shots with a .22 especially if some one had run it over on the road.

I dealt to the rabbits on our lifestyle block about this time last year, 25 rabbits on 3 acres in about 5 weeks. The little beggars are back again, lots of young ones and plenty on the neighbouring properties. I'm regularly seeing 10 or so each night, the cat and I are having a competition to see who gets the most.

Im in Rotherham north canty on a 1/4acre section have got 12 in the last 3 days since the neighbor bought an air rifle still 15 odd knocking around

Originally Posted by turtle

I camped overnight at Lowburn 5 mins out of Cromwell. Sitting here having coffee with up to 10 rabbits within 5-10 m of me . Warren must be huge hard to count the little buggers very wary

No rabbits in Lowburn or Cromwell or Tarras mate, stop putting LSD in your coffee,

Originally Posted by quentin

Very few where I live now. A few of the neighbors all do their bit, and the market gardener, orchards, and lavender farm no longer need to net crops to protect them from rabbits (or Pukeko).
The property owners understand the value of having people come onto their properties to kill the rabbits, and its working for everyone. We get to have a shoot, and take home rabbit meat, and they don't need to pay for pest protection.
Only problem now is there is not the numbers to support going out each night, and actually seeing a single rabbit.
I'm only talking 1000 acres, but over a handful of years, 3 very part time (possibly 1-2 evenings a weekend) hunters have reduced the numbers to virtually nothing. Surely this is able to scale to account for larger properties? If not, what's stopping this... terrain, scale, land owners not wanting hunters on their land?

The rabbiter on the station we used to hunt on used to shoot and harvest 10,000 a year for pet food. Never made a dent. He cleaned out the easy areas he could get to on quad and a bit of walking but it just pushed them into the steeper stuff.
The new virus they released legally a couple years ago, that was a different story. Put him out of a job.
Last time I was there, you could count on two hands how many you saw. Used to be 400-500 for a weekend.

it's strange how the rabbit population seems to come and go. When I was a kid I used to go out in the evening, walk around the house with the 22 and get 10-15 every time. These days I can go from weeks without seeing a single rabbit. Land use has changed a bit with much more trees and longer grass, which might explain it. Only 10kms away I hear there is a rabbit plague.

Originally Posted by Carbine

Im in Rotherham north canty on a 1/4acre section have got 12 in the last 3 days since the neighbor bought an air rifle still 15 odd knocking around

Yes I can go 1km up the road and see heaps they just don't seem to like the pocket we are in.

Soil types and irrigation can dictate a lot on where they chose to make there abode, I was living on a 3000ha property up in the McKenzie and we had very few in our affective areas due to pivot irrigators, I'm now down near Alexandra way and you can still see them when you close you eyes it's that bad. I've put my horse through many a warren unexpectedly unfortunately.

I use to have a photo of my father and his 3 brothers around Alexandra in the 1940s.With their model A trucks loaded with rabbits.Theyd herd the rabbits in corners of stone wall fenced paddocks.Knock the rabbits on the head,gut and skin them for the butcher shop.On the truck door was painted skull and bone crosses.I guess it was the teddy boy era.In the photo was dad and brothers sitting around a crate of long neck bottles of beer celebrating their haul of rabbits.Good pocket money for ammo, beer and petrol in those days.