Big John drew back with a little gasp, ‘My gracious, look at that!’ Robin, who was close on his heels, stopped dead. ‘What’s the matter, have you seen somebody?’ ‘No, rabbits, millions of ’em!’
“As far as the eye could see rabbits were dotted everywhere; on the riding edge, among the bushes, on the short green grass of the ride itself. Some were busy feeding, others sat up washing themselves like cats, or chasing each other in circles. The boys had never seen so many before.”
As a boy, I remember reading these words from BB’s wonderful children’s novel Brendon Chase with disbelief. Millions of rabbits in Britain? Surely not. Although just starting my shooting career, I was yet to mark the ‘rabbit’ column of my gamebook. My native Pembrokeshire seemed devoid of them.
Fifteen years later, my rabbit column has been marked twice: one shot on a woodcock walkabout and one retrieved by my labrador completely alive. Yet in Brendon Chase, the three brothers managed to survive eight months in the forest, eating rabbits and fashioning their pelts into clothes. How?
The outlaw brothers ran away from home in the 1920s when Britain’s rabbit population numbered 100 million. It now stands at 36 million a figure that has fluctuated wildly over the past century. What happened? Ever since the Normans established rabbits on our isles, their numbers have been inextricably linked to humans. Until the mid19th century, rabbit warrens were primarily owned by the landed gentry, who guarded the right to harvest their valuable meat and fur fiercely.
Feral population
ãã®èšäºã¯ Shooting Times & Country ã® May 31, 2023 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Shooting Times & Country ã® May 31, 2023 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside