The trouble with rabbits

The wild rabbit is the major economic wildlife pest species in the UK.

Rabbit damage is a major economic problem for British agriculture, costing the industry an estimated £100 million annually by destroying crops and grazing

How much of that £100.000.000 was yours?

,

New shoots on herbaceous plants can be grazed down to ground level. Foliage and soft shoots of woody plants can be grazed up to a height of 50cm (20in) by rabbits standing up on their hind legs.

Bark may be gnawed away from the base of trunks, especially in winter when snow or frost makes other vegetation unavailable. This can kill the tree if bark is removed all the way around the trunk. Partly gnawed trunks should be wrapped in black polythene to encourage the damaged area to callus over. Bridge grafting can sometimes save badly damaged trees, for example on apples. Rabbits also dig holes and scrapes in lawns and flower beds.

Other businesses suffer also such as golf courses and country house gardens with the rabbits digging holes in greens and killing grass with their droppings ,eating flowers and bulbs and destroying young trees by stripping bark

Railways
The railway network suffers a lot of damage from rabbits, as they tend to burrow into railway embankments weakening them. They also access adjoining land and damage the crop, vegetation lawned areas etc. It is the landowner’s obligation to deal with this problem.

History The domestic rabbit is a descendant of the wild European rabbit. Rabbits were introduced to Britain by the Romans they kept them in fenced off warrens and used them for meat and fur. The earliest known records of rabbits in Britain are from the 12th Century. They were t described as conies, after the last part of their scientific name (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Rabbits are very adaptable and have become so successful in some areas of this country that they are considered to be a pest. Life span rabbits can live for an average of 5-10 years. Distribution and Habitat in the wild The European rabbit naturally is found all over Europe, except for the far north and east, and also inhabits North West Africa. The rabbit has been introduced to many other countries, including New Zealand, Australia and Chile. It lives in grassland, cultivated land, grassy coastal cliffs woodland and farm land ,anywhere it can populate and has food. Behaviour in the wild Wild rabbits are gregarious and a couple of hundred individuals may be found in one warren which is a network of underground burrows. They are most active during dusk and dawn,and will also come out during the day if undisturbed. Rabbits primarily feed on grass and leafy plants such as farm crops, but they will feed on bulbs in gardens and woodland, bark and twigs when food is scarce. They can also be damaging to young trees . Females can and often do produce several litters a year, usually in the spring and summer. There are between 3 and 9 young in a litter which are born blind and helpless. They emerge from the burrow after 3 weeks .

Facts

Diet
Rabbits eat the leaves of a wide range of vegetation including agricultural crops, cereals, young trees and cabbages. In winter, they eat grasses, bulbs and bark. They re-ingest their faeces for nutritional benefit.

Behaviour apart from crop munching
Rabbits have a burrow system known as a warren, and tunnels can be 1-2m long. The nest at the end of the tunnel is lined with grass, moss and belly fur. They use regular trails, which they scent mark with faecal pellets.

Reproduction

Mating occurs throughout the year, producing several litters of between 3 and 12 kittens each time, every 6 weeks or so. The kittens are weaned after 28 days and become sexually mature after just 4 months.

This means that the original male & female become parents, grand-parents & great grand-parents, all within the space of one year. The phrase ‘breeding like rabbits’ really does mean what it says!

The experts tend to agree that one pair of rabbits can be responsible for up to 1000 new rabbits within a 12 month period.

population

Rabbit populations are increasing (not surprising given the statistics above) and they are becoming immune to the miximatosis virus. This is becoming a costly problem for many farmers, landowners, stately homes and golf courses, where plants are destroyed, holes are dug and the acidic droppings kill off grass.

Life span
Up to 9 years. one rabbit could make another 324 rabbits which can also make another 324 rabbits which could make 104976 more rabbits add all this up over a period of time and imagine how much they can eat,

if you have rabbits on your land eating your crops or landscaped gardens this could be quite costly without you even realizing how bad it actually is