Back at the bunnies

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and Mat Manning’s first rabbit shooting outing post-lockdown proves it’s absolutely true

- Mat Manning

It is hard to believe that such a simple thing as heading out in pursuit of a few rabbits could be regarded as a treat. But I felt like a child on Christmas morning when the opportunity finally came around. Having to stay at home during the lockdown was only a tiny sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. But I am pretty sure that everyone with a passion for field sports felt the same yearning to get back out there.

I was one of the fortunate few who had managed to get out a couple of times while others remained confined to their homes. Both those outings were for essential pest control with the shotgun; one of them shooting crows that were posing a serious risk to livestock and the other protecting a recently drilled crop that was being clobbered by woodpigeon.

Each of those outings felt like a real privilege — not only to be escaping the confines of the house but also having the opportunity to help farmers to protect their livelihoods. But what I really craved was a few sedate hours with my air rifle.

Stake-out

As soon as we were given the nod to increase our movements beyond the single daily outing for exercise, I was back out on my woodland rounds. I checked on the feeding stations that I use to control grey squirrels, refilling them in readiness for the resumption of my year-round campaign. As they had been left empty for so long, it would be a couple of weeks before they were ready for a stake-out — but a chance meeting with the estate gardener threw up a more immediate opportunity.

There is a wooden holiday cabin in the paddock on the edge of the woods, and the gardener told me that his efforts to establish flowers and saplings in its garden area were being thwarted by hungry rabbits.