Dog killing rabbits

zaksmum

Just got back from Anglesey where our dogs have the off lead freedom of miles of open cliff top walks. Lucy just potters along but Jack spotted a rabbit and was after it like a shot.

He disappeared into bushes and I called him back. He came racing over to me with a - dead! - rabbit in his mouth!

He dropped it at my feet like he was giving me a gift, tail wagging, really excited and proud of himself...I was horrified!:eek:

I pointed to it and said NO! but he just looked at me as if I was mad. The rabbit wasn't marked in any way so probably Jack had just given it the neck-break shake that they do with their toys sometimes.

I don't want to have to keep the dogs on lead in the open, but quite apart from feeling bad for the poor rabbits, could I have got into any trouble if anyone had seen this happen?

BOBS

My Jack Russell has managed to catch a rabbit whilst still on his lead - it must have been hiding at the base of the ditch! . They are a dumb animal wasnt as if you encouraged your dog .... cant see how you can get into trouble!

pigpen

Unless it was a family pet Id not worry.. they are classed as a pest and are one of the few critters you can dispose of legally.. and he is on doing what his breed is supposed to do!! .. rats and rabbits..

zaksmum

I looked on the internet about it, and it does say that it's ok to "hunt" rats and rabbits with dogs as long as you have the written permission of the owner of the land the dog is hunting on.

Obviously I haven't got the written permission! Don't even know who the land belongs to, it's just clifftop walks. And is it classed as "hunting" at all, if the dog's just doing it the second I let him off the lead without me telling him to?

Also, while it's apparently legal (with permission) to hunt rats and rabbits, it's not ok to hunt hares. How do you tell the difference between rabbits and hares? My dog certainly can't!

pigpen

hares are much bigger.. and run rather than hop and they have looooooong ears... if he manages to catch a hare he is amazing.. they are extremely fast and very big.. as a jack russell they are probably bigger than him!

BOBS

pigpen wrote: »

hares are much bigger.. and run rather than hop and they have looooooong ears... if he manages to catch a hare he is amazing.. they are extremely fast and very big.. as a jack russell they are probably bigger than him!

but the size probably wouldnt put a Jack russell off!! - not mine anyway!

pigpen

BOBS wrote: »

but the size probably wouldnt put a Jack russell off!! - not mine anyway!

course not.. Id be glad it wasnt a cow or a horse he dragged out of the bush lol.. the worry is the hare runs and the dog runs after and gets lost.


My mother has dachsunds that think they are rottweilers..

myway_2

Don't worry you won't get to too any trouble, Because your not working your dog. To be honest most of the rabbit's that most dog's catch have mixi, so the dog's are putting the poor mite's out of pain.What breed are your dog's?. Even if your dog got a hare unless you sent your dog to get it you can't get in any trouble, and to be honest, Most untrained dog's wouldn't be fit or fast enough to catch one. The rabbit could even have been dead when he found it. My oh would have brought it home for dinner:p.

bagginslover

As long as you don't bring home any accidental kills, it's fine. It's classes as poaching if you do -same applies to hitting deer on the road, someone else can pick it up and take it home, but not the driver or they are poachers. Seems barmy to me, but that's the law

myway_2

bagginslover wrote: »

As long as you don't bring home any accidental kills, it's fine. It's classes as poaching if you do -same applies to hitting deer on the road, someone else can pick it up and take it home, but not the driver or they are poachers. Seems barmy to me, but that's the law

oops forgot to say that:o. But yeah it's a mad law isn't it:)

elsien

Brothers dog regularly catches rabbits - quite often though it turns out that the rabbit has myxamatosis, which is why it doesn't scarper as quickly as it could.
I do need to warn you that if you think it may be a regular occurence you need to get your head round having to put injured bunnies out of their misery - the dog sometimes bring them back alive but too injured to let them go and die a painful death elsewhere. I hate having to do it, but sometimes a stout pair of shoes and a stamp on the head is the best way out.