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CONTROL OF THE EUROPEAN RABBIT ( ORYCTOLAGUS C. CUNICULUS L.) AN EXPERIMENT TO COMPARE THE EFFICIENCY OF GIN TRAPPING, FERRETING AND CYANIDE GASSING
Author(s) -
THOMPSON HARRY V.,
ARMOUR C. J.
Publication year - 1951
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1951.tb07821.x
Subject(s) - trapping , biology , netting , zoology , rabbit (cipher) , pest analysis , european rabbit , anatomy , ecology , botany , population , mathematics , statistics , political science , law , demography , sociology
Two similar adjacent areas of grass‐heath were enclosed by rabbit‐proof netting and the bulk of the rabbits on one area removed by gin trapping (in the holes) and on the other by ferreting. Trapping was followed by pump gassing and ferreting in its turn by spoon gassing, with a cyanogenetic powder. Gin trapping yielded a higher return of rabbits per man hour (1.5) than ferreting (1.0), particularly during the initial stages of clearance. Ferreting gave a steady return. Pump gassing of burrows, when surface‐living rabbits were present, proved ineffective, owing to re‐opening of holes from the outside. Spoon gassing of burrows, integrated with the removal of surface‐living rabbits by ‘dog and gun’, was successful but expensive in time (0.5 rabbits per man hour), compared with gin trapping and ferreting. The valuable place of ‘dog and gun’ in planned rabbit clearance was clearly demonstrated. Trapping yielded equal numbers of bucks and does. Ferreting yielded a higher proportion of does. Spoon gassing (after ferreting) yielded more bucks than does when the holes were dug out. Surface‐living rabbits were predominantly bucks.