So, every year we are inundated with rabbits and when they are like this they are so cute, u can forgive the fact that we can't grow anything as we've lost that battle. In fact we've even started buying reduced carrots just for the bleedin things! We are now actively feeding birds, foxes, badgers and rabbits and of course the squirrels that just help themselves. But sadly this year they seem to be experiencing a severe outbreak of myxy. It's quite horrific, the one below is early stages. Their eyes start to blister and swell, eventually they go blind and their heads just rot, it's usually fatal within 2 weeks, quicker if they're lucky. You can walk right up to them and touch them as they are blind and presumably deaf too, I had one run into my legs the other day, they are helpless. The owls are picking off a few but there's simply too many of them. Sadly it doesn't affect squirrels. So I'd said to the missus that I'd love to have the guts to just drop a paving slab on them and put them out of their misery, but I couldn't. I jokingly said, if I had a gun, I'd shoot them. So tonight, she comes home with this.... ........as u do Amazing how someone u thought u knew can still surprise the hell out of you.... One of her clients has "lent" it her.....don't ask and my task tomorrow is to humanely despatch said poorly rabbits. She doesn't want to know about or see them, it's my job to sort it. Tbh, I'm not sure I've got it in me. Wimp. So this evening has been spent blatting .22 pellets at an assortment of tin cans, I'm quite good at it if I say so........... and tomorrow I'm hunting wabbits, blind ones, how difficult can that be? Maybe the odd squirrel.
it’s cheaper than taking them to the vets and paying £80 a rabbit for a humane putting down. Don’t think Mixamatosis can spread to humans either so maybe you can eat them? At least that way they didn’t die for nothing?
They won’t look like that in a pie… If I didn’t eat meat based on how it looks when alive, I wouldn’t eat meat at all! In fact I dread to think what the chickens KFC dish up look like when they’re in their battery cages…
I always thought, possibly wrongly, myxi was invested by humans as a means of controlling the rabbit population, (maybe in new zealand?). not 100% on that though.
Yes, man made virus introduced in various countries including Britain in the 50s to control wold rabbit population. It now occurs sporadically, carried by fleas, flies and lice and then transmitted amongst the rabbit population by direct contact. Shows itself mainly on the face and genitals as obviously, they're at it like rabbits.
I hope the gun is powerful enough to do the job humanely. Look up the most effective killing zones for rabbits so you know you're doing it right.
Just rats get my pellets on my allotment. The odd pidgeon for the ferrets. But if I was one of those rabbits I'd want putting out of my misery as well.
We have a guy who comes into work every so often with his rifle to keep the numbers down, wouldn't fancy eating them though, I wish he would include magpies on his cull as well, but sadly for me he doesnt
