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quixote
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Location: North Devon
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KILLITnGRILLIT
Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 894
Location: Looking at a screen in the front room
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Bodger
Joined: 23 May 2006
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
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quixote
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198
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quixote
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198
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 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:00 am Post subject: |
 
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| cab wrote: |
| how to best site the snares, how to place them to avoid anything else coming along and munching on the rabbit, etc. |
I always look for the 'runs' through fencelines, etc. They're fairly easy to spot once you know what to look for (you can see the flattened vegetation) It's quite easy to mistake gamebird runs for rabbit paths though as they look very similar. Rabbit runs tend to have 'claps' (part-dug burrow entrances) nearby in a lot of cases, so that can be a clue. Cropped vegetation & droppings nearby can also steer you in the right direction. A lot of it is down to 'feel' though, as after a while you get to know the distribution of animals in your area. When surveying a new site, it pays dividends to make a few visits beforehand (early morning & dusk are the best times) in order to get an idea of the population & popular feeding areas.
Once you've identified a likely area, you can start laying a few snares. I use a peg pushed into the ground if there's no handy fence available. The snare should be made with a 'stop' to prevent it being pulled tight around the animal's neck, & set so that it sits about a 'fist' above the ground and about a foot into the vegetation (this helps prevent livestock from pulling them out). Before setting brand new snares, I always bury them for a week in order to 'de-scent' them. Rubbing your hands in the soil before handling them can help too, I've been told, but if the snare's set correctly I'm not convinced that you need to go to these lengths. Then it's a case of leaving them to do their job. I often find that the buns are already dead when I get back to check them (they tend to throw themselves about quite a lot, & the neck gets broken in the process), but any live ones are dispatched by throwing the neck.
As I've said, I've never had any buns eaten whilst in the snare (to my knowledge!) so either I'm bloody good at it, or I've just been lucky  It may well be the case that buns have been munched & taken away from the site though, but I've never noticed any signs |
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Bodger
Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524
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| Posted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:00 am Post subject: |
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| cab wrote: |
| I'm familiar with how snaring works, but I've never done it. I'd be interested to hear advice on how its best done, how to best site the snares, how to place them to avoid anything else coming along and munching on the rabbit, etc. |
I've got quite a few books on the subject if you want to borrow some.
Whilst they won't take the place of practice, some have good photographs that would prove helpful.
With regard to setting the snares, there are two schools of thought as to where they should be set.
Don't set them in hedges because rabbits nearly always stop and have a look around before they come into a field, you need to try and and catch them on the gallop. This is where the two schools of thought come into it. If you look on a well worn rabbit run you will observe the area where the rabbit lands . This will be obvious because the ground will be flattened and worn . The area between these patches are where the rabbit is in the air and is known as the leap. In one method the snare is set so the rabbit is caught on the step and in the other when it is in the leap.
Needless to say , its much easier to show someone how to do it, rather than explain it. I hope what I've said makes sense and that it helps.
Ooops. I've just seen Qs post. We must have crossed mid air. You can catch rabbits in fence lines but if you can master the art of catching out in the open, then your catches should be more prolific. |
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@Calli
Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Posts: 1682
Location: Galway
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quixote
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
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Bodger
Joined: 23 May 2006
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Bernie66
Joined: 14 Jan 2005
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judith
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Bernie66
Joined: 14 Jan 2005
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