Jack called round at one o'clock to see if I'd like to go ferreting for an
hour or so.  Quick change into camo gear, grab ferret box, nets and Kurt.
We call at Jack's home whilst he collects his jill ferret, Lucy the whipp
et, Tommy the lurcher and Sophie the minature poodle???  A couple of minutes
drive and we're at the farm, fit Kurt with his locator collar, neither
Jack or I cope our ferrets.  IMHO anyone who copes (usesa muzzle) a ferret
has no right to work or own ferrets, if the ferret meets a rat or a stropy
buck rabbit it needs to be able to defend itself.  Kurt is introduced at the
top of the bank, the dogs are waiting patientlyat various holes so we know
that someone is at home!  Jack puts his jill in further along the bank.
After about 20 minutes a rabbit makes a break,Lucy and Tommy give chase
the rabbit doubles back and dives into a hole much to the disgust of the
three dogs.  Kurt looks a bit brassed off as well - if he could talk I feel
sure he would be muttering something about"Stoopid dogs who couldn't catch
a cold, and after all my work flushing the bunny!" 10 minutes later the same
thing happens again, probably the same rabbit.  BTW we couldn't really use
purse nets as the bank was a rubbish tip, planks of wood, old fridges etc.
that's why we were relying on the dogs catching the rabbits.  No signs of
myxy - myxomatosis a disease where the rabbit ends up blind, deaf, unable to
eat of defecate it suffers a lingering death due to starvation -
introduced into England in the early 50's.  It was first introduced into
France from South America by a French doctor who thought it was the just the
thing to control rabbits on his estate!!!  What a wally (I'm being polite) -
a year later the first cases were being reported in England, 99 per cent
of the rabbit population died as a result.  The only rabbits that survived
were the warren outcasts who were living above ground.
 
Sheila
 
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http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm
Bolton Ferret Welfare & Newsletter Editor of the
National Ferret Welfare Society of the UK
The opinions expressed by me are not necessarily those of the NFWS
[Posted in FML issue 1818]