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Snaring
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quixote



Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:18 am    Post subject: Snaring Reply with quote
    

I use snares frequently both as a means of keeping the bunny population down on the farm AND as a method of obtaining 'unleaded' bunnies for the pot. Checked twice a day & set correctly, I don't consider it to be a particularly inhumane method. I'd be interested to hear other opinions though, as I had an interesting (if slightly beer-fueled) conversation in the pub last night.
My opponent's view was that snaring leads to a long, drawn-out death exacerbated by the likelihood of the bun to be subjected to the trauma of both capture, and exposure to easy predation.
My snares all have stops to prevent strangulation, & I've never (in 20-odd years) come across a snared bun that's been munched on by something else!!!
What do you reckon?

sean
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've never been in a position to use them but as far as I can see provided they're set properly and checked regularly I don't have a problem with them.
I always used ferrets and nets for lead-free bunnies personally.

KILLITnGRILLIT



Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 894
Location: Looking at a screen in the front room
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Better that than cymag etc. I have never tried wires for rabbits,as yet,but have had good results with foxes and feral cats.

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've used snares in the past for rabbits but unlike you I have had problems with uninvited munchers.
I once caught a bloke who was helping himself and in the past I've had foxes, cats and ravens take advantage of my self service cafe.

cab



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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.

quixote



Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

bodger wrote:
I once caught a bloke who was helping himself


The B*****d !!! I've had problems at other locations where certain muppets took it upon themselves to do the fluffy bunnies a favour by cutting my snares. Never did catch them at it though. Closest I came was watching a line of woolly bobble hats leg it at high speed after I unleashed a stream of invective from 100 yards away. (might've been the sight of the dog 'n gun that spurred them on though)

quixote



Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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.

@Calli



Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Posts: 1682
Location: Galway
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Like many things there is alot more of an art to snaring than just setting and checking.
Interesting reading about the selection of sites, what would happen if you set in a game bird run?

quixote



Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 198

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

bodger wrote:
its much easier to show someone how to do it, rather than explain it.



Sooooo true !!!!

bodger wrote:
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.


Yep, should've mentioned that the runs can be found in the open (silage fields are good, so too are open areas nearby warrens. As I said, once you know what to look for, they're pretty easy to spot
And of course, you're not always guaranteed to find a handy fence nearby

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've got books which describe just how easy to snare pheasants.
Highly illegal but very effective but the old time poachers would snare the pheasants in the game preserves by making a low barrier with brushwood and then make a few holes for the pheasants to walk through. These holes would be guarded by snares made by thin wire or twine and Bobs your uncle.
I've not tried it, but it shouldn't be too hard because at the end of the day pheasants are as thick as two short planks. The game keepers use traps to catch their breeding pheasants that work on the same principal as a lobster pot.

Its also possible to snare rats with thin wire snares and I'm sure that I've read somewhere about people snaring songbirds and the like with horse hair.

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45672
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

A pheasant found a way into our netted off pea patch the other day, I had to get in there to get it out, could I have just killed and eaten it?

Bernie66



Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

bodger wrote:
I'm sure that I've read somewhere about people snaring songbirds and the like with horse hair.


Why would you want to snare songbirds anyway?

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

tahir wrote:
A pheasant found a way into our netted off pea patch the other day, I had to get in there to get it out, could I have just killed and eaten it?


I recommend you cook it first.

Bernie66



Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 06 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

judith wrote:
tahir wrote:
A pheasant found a way into our netted off pea patch the other day, I had to get in there to get it out, could I have just killed and eaten it?


I recommend you cook it first.


There's a thought

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