Rabbiting

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Rabbiting is the sport of hunting rabbits, often using ferrets or dogs to track the prey and various trapping methods to catch them.

[edit] Trapping methods

Typically, long nets are placed around burrows so that a bolting rabbit (that is, one leaving its burrow while being chased by a ferret or other animal) will become ensnared, allowing the hunter to dispatch it. Another method is to use a purse net, which is a net with a draw string at the opening. This net is placed over the burrow, so that when the rabbit bolts, it will run into the net and cause the draw string to pull the net shut.

Rabbits are occasionally killed by a Priest, but may also be killed with a sharp blow of the hand to the base of the neck, or by holding the neck between the thumb and first finger and using a whipping motion.

[edit] Ferreting

Ferrets tend to be the primary animal used in rabbiting, due to their ease in moving about burrows. A jill (female ferret) is more typically used in a hunt than a hob (male ferret), as the hob is more likely to "lay up" (killing and eating a rabbit in the burrow, resulting in the hob falling asleep) due to it being stronger than the jill. In modern rabbiting, ferrets may wear a locator collar, and the hunter will use a device which emits a faster clicking noise the closer it is to the ferret's collar. When the ferret lays up, the hunter uses the device to locate the ferret, digging down to remove it and the trapped rabbit.

Some hunters now rely on firearms to take the prey, rather than laying down nets. Three or four hunters with shotguns will attempt to shoot the rabbit as it bolts from the burrow while being chased by the ferret. A method used to determine when the rabbit is preparing to bolt is to listen for thudding sounds coming from the burrow.

[edit] Historic rabbiting

In medieval times, a hawk or falcon would have been used to catch the rabbit as it exited the burrow. For this type of hunt, an albino ferret would typically be used, allowing the bird-of-prey to more easily recognize it. While this hunting style is still occasionally used, the above methods have almost entirely replaced it.

Bloodsports
Baiting • Bullfighting • Cockfighting • Dog fighting • Falconry • Sport fishing • Fox hunting • Hare coursing • Hunting • Insect fighting • Pigsticking