Dear Rossi,
 
Just SW of British Columbia, Canada, and NW of Seattle, USA, is a group of
American Islands, stolen from the Englander pig farmers, called the San
Juans.  Some, if not all of these islands maintain large rabbit populations.
These rabbits are nocturnally active for the most part and not frequently
seen in numbers during daylight.
 
An officer of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, several
years ago, adopted two intact sable ferrets from our Seattle shelter and
took them to the San Juans for the purpose of flushing rabbits from their
warrens during daylight.  This officer also possessed (owned??) a very large
red-tailed hawk that appeared to be trained somewhat in the manner of a
falconer's falcon; id est, the hawk was hooded and wore on its legs trailing
leather thongs that were belled.
 
The ferrets were introduced into rabbit holes to flush out fair numbers of
fleeing rabbits, at which time the hawk was unhooded and launched into the
air.  The hawk came down very quickly and pinioned a rabbit in its talons
and proceeded to tear the screaming rabbit apart, bit by bit.
 
The two ferrets appeared very agitated by the screams of the rabbit when
they both appeared above ground and at first made a bee-line for the rabbit
and the hawk, but they hesitated as they closed on the hawk with their noses
high in the air, as though they were trying to pick up scent.  The male
ferret stayed considerably behind the female and went butt-first into a hole
when the hawk took off with the rabbit.
 
The game officer retrieved the hawk on his wrist, hooded it, and then gave
to the ferrets the remains of the rabbit.  The two ferrets spent more time
trying to keep the whole rabbit carcas to themselves, and at first were
least inclined to share, but they finally did when they could not tear the
rabbit in two.
 
The two hunter ferrets were returned to Ferrets NorthWest about a year
later, both having been necklace belled with those characteristic falconer's
brass bells.
 
The hawk was returned to the wild and may be surviving to this day.  Our two
ferrets have been adopted into qualified homes and are very gentle and
affectionate, according to what their owners tell me.
 
Here in the Colony (USA) it's illegal to hunt with ferrets if the purpose is
to benefit the ferreter.  However, the licensed falconers are not restricted
by force of law in the use of ferrets to flush prey from underground (or
even above ground) burrows, since it is considered to be a benefit to the
raptor.
 
I do have two questions for you.  Do you cope your ferrets when hunting
them, or do you allow them the flush game without being muzzled?  Second,
What is the rabbit disease you noted as myxy?  Thank you for your comments.
 
As the say in the far South of England:  Tally ho, you all !
 
Edward Frettchenvergnuegen Lipinski,
der Frettchen Meister von Mercer Inselreich,
Der Staat Washingon,
Die Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika
[Posted in FML issue 1817]