Rabbits have been escaping from their farmed enclosures since their probable original introduction by the Romans, but it was not until the 12th century and another round of importation from the continent but the Normans that they began to establish a significant feral population.

POPULATION EXPLOSION

Changes in farming practices during the agricultural revolution turbo charged the rabbit population. The newly introduced crop rotation system provided year-round food and given that they can breed at 6 months old and can have 4 - 6 litters a year, the population exploded. This was at a time when the economic heat had gone out of the great warrens and their fences were left crumbling.

 THE RECORD BAG

The record bag for rabbits was established Rhiwlas, to the west of Oswestry in Wales where rabbit farmer and shoot owner Mr R. J. Lloyd-Price felt it necessary to tackle his escapees. On one day in 1885 9 guns shot 5,086, with the Marquis of Ripon accounting for 920 himself. This was to stand until the 7th October in 1898 when the Duke of Marlborough broke it at Belnheim in Oxfordshire, shooting 6,943. The game cards at Windsor Great Park also show large numbers of rabbits being shot in the reign of Edward VII but that was only after the King had injured himself stumbling on a rabbit hole and a decision was taken to reduce the numbers.

These large rabbit shoots were often driven but walked up rabbits with spaniels in areas of bracken was another method. The problem in both instances was getting and keeping the rabbits above ground. Ferrets could be used but another method was to stink them out. Gamekeepers dipped a 6inch square of paper or rag in a mixture that included Renardine. Also know as bone oil, it was not unlike Creosote and was made using the animal bones rendered at a high heat to produce this foul smelling oil. This odious liquid would be mixed with paraffin and left in the burrow hole which was closed up behind it. One or two holes would be left open and the rabbits would vacate the burrows overnight. On the morning of the shoot the remaining holes would be blocked up leaving bracken bank heaving with rabbits. (N.B. The practice of leaving noxious chemicals on the ground has been illegal since 2005 and Renardine itself is now banned!)

IMPORTANT ASSET

Rabbits were directly to benefit from the gamekeeper’s activities as predator control meant their numbers could increase. Some ‘keepers believed that keeping some foxes around meant others were less likely to move in so they would leave rabbits near the earths to divert their resident foxes’ attention away from their birds. Rabbits were an important part of early rearing and releasing with game chicks being fed a mix of finely minced rabbit and biscuit meal before commercial versions became available in the 1950’s. Even rabbit skins, which were worth less in spring and summer, were found a use - rolled up and exposed to blow flies, the maggots were tipped out to provide a tasty snack for growing poults.

Before the First World War roughly 50 per cent of agricultural land was subject to game preservation and there were twice as many gamekeepers in the countryside as policemen. A this time the 23,000 acre Eleven estate had a total of 70 men in the game department. 30 of these were warreners. Even as late as the 1970’s Elveden in Suffolk still employed two warreners (one of them full time) who took 2000 rabbits a year, and in 1974, as was not uncommon, the numbers built up so that 13,000 went to market.

FOOD SHORTAGES

During World War II the rabbit was a serious concern. Identified as the single biggest drain on agricultural productivity to feed a nation under U-Boat blockade, it's estimated that rabbits rats and pigeons did £50 million worth of crop damage annually at a time when the country could ill-afford it. 40% of this was caused by rabbits. Questions were asked in parliament, private members bills introduced and rabbits were even the subject of a parliamentary enquiry. The reduction in numbers of gamekeepers (by 65% from its height) and the contraction of gameshooting that had begun in World War I caused a rapid rise in numbers in the 1930’s. At this time the rabbit was regarding as a sporting object by landowners not fully aware of the costs they were incurring. By the 1940’s when domestic food production had become vital, the State had declared war on the rabbit. Pest control societies were set up which successfully raised agricultural output by 5%. While the Ministry of Agriculture conducted it war of attrition, many people for whom fresh meat had become a luxury probably frowned on the introduction of the use Cymag to gas them in their burrows. The rabbit’s was both hero and villain again. As rationing intensified in the post-war global economic slump, a rabbit was welcome in many kitchens. Many that found their way into British kitchens were imported from Australia and the price for home killed wild rabbits collapsed.

 HOW TO SHOOT WELL

Not 20 years ago I relished the prospect of shooting rabbits bolting in front of the combine. A similar sporting challenge could be found as local shoots disced in their maize covers and in places where rabbits are still relatively common this can still be done. However, as a sporting day out Matt Smith, a shooting instructor with Calvert Sporting, says there is little to compare with roughing up rabbits on the edge of grouse moors where rabbits are still plentiful over spaniels where rabbits are still plentiful.

 On the lower edges of grouse moors the rough pasture that is full of sedge and rush eaking out a living in the acidic soil can be a brilliant habitat for rabbits. Matt says “Some of this white pasture is used for training spaniels and we would typically shoot in pairs of guns and there are places available to buy on days like this.”

Experienced dogs work in close the the line of guns and trainers and when a rabbit first flushes it can be right under your feet.

“The thickness of the cover will dictate how quickly you can get on to the rabbit” Matt says. “I would would walk with the gun over my arm and as the dog starts to look busy then the gun can come between the hands ready for a shot. You can also try to identify likely looking spots yourself.”

 CHOKES AND SHOT SIZE

Matt advocates no more than 1/4 and 1/2 choke for rabbits and anywhere between 28g and 32g loads but is definite in his choice of shot size.

“You really want 5’s for rabbits. This matters as they get out to 40 and 50 yards and if they’ve been flushed by inexperienced dogs working further away from you, they may start at 30 yards and only being to present a shot at 40 yards.”

NOT TOO QUICK
The biggest mistake he believes, is people trying to shoot too quickly.

“When a rabbit is flushed by a dog it is in flight mode straight away and can’t see its escape route. It's likely to have a dog on its tail so it will jink like a snipe or a woodcock. Also this is a safety issue as the dog will be close to the rabbit. 90% of shots missed are because the first shot is too early and then they try to aim like a rifle with the second resulting in a miss behind."

Matt believes the best option is to start guiding the barrel out towards it when the rabbit first flushes and then wait for it to pick a path. It will run a line or an open path because as much as it wants to get away, its wants to see where it's going.

 RANGE PRACTICE

"It is easy to shoot over of the top of a rabbit and you should know how you gun is set up. If it shoots 60/40 then you want to be coming through the front feet of the rabbit. It is quite an instinctive shot but you shouldn’t just practice close rabbit targets at your local clay ground. Some of the rabbits will be 40 - 50 yards away and you need to practice at that distance which will be more of a swing through shot assessing the speed of the animal. The usual safety rules apply and you must be very conscious of the whereabouts of the dogs at all times. In an ideal world the dog will sit to flush but that’s not always the case.”

It is doubtful we will ever see rabbits in pre-war numbers again, but in certain parts of the country as population spikes warrant it, it can be a testing day with the added bonus of watching spaniels at work.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SHOOTING TIMES, JANUARY 2021