peeriebryan Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 I see the council is paying fur da shooting o rabbits again Island rabbits killed off for 20p 20p a tail isna very much. Hardly covers the ammunition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twerto Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 ahh will have to dig out my old snares and pea shooter. make it as slow as poss ( said with sarcasm before i get any animal activists on my back ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 20p a tail isna very much. Hardly covers the ammunition It does we da old air-rifle, but five rabbits to the pound is not much incentive. Snares are cheap, but not for the squeamish, netting is good fun, but once again not for the squeamish.In the old "Rabbits" thread i kinda hoped to turn it round for some sensible suggestions, but it was a non-starter. The thing that slightly perplexes me is that in some parts of the world rabbit meat is considered a delicacy, yet here the best we can offer is shooting them and leaving them to the birds. Rabbit stinks when you're boiling it (we used to cook them often for the dogs, never killed and left them) but there are many more palatable thing to do with them, and they're free! And there's millions of them. I think we should at least have a dog-food factory on the island. Hmmm, Unst beckons.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 ....here the best we can offer is shooting them and leaving them to the birds. Which just replaces one problem with another, especially at this time of year when Bonxies, Black-backs and Corbies are at their hungriest, a rotting rabbit crang will attract a flock of them t' flite ower it quiker than you can blink. Rabbits, for the greater part inhabit arable and improved grazing (dey ken da taste ih dir mooth's tuh ) which is also where a considerable number of sheep are also lambing over the next couple of months. The last thing any sheep owner wants on his grazings right now is anything else which might help attract scavenger birds to it, as the losers in the battle for the rabbit crang will be the first to see a ewe in the process of giving birth, and the perter ones will have that lambs eyes and tongue, and probably a chunk of it's brain as well before it can even be born. Most responsible crofters/farmers want rid of the rabbits, without the side effect or a reduced lamb crop, and do dispose of the carcases responsibly, but that doesn't mean rabbits killed on neighbouring land are necessarily handled likewise. If you have a a flock of still hungry beady eyed birds lining up on top of your boundary dyke or atop your boundary fence posts, it really matters none whether a rotting rabbit on your land or next doors land caused them to be there, they're looking for what they may devour on either side. Any kind of a bounty which offers encouragement to reducing the rabbit population can only be a good thing, but it needs to be coupled to responsible disposal of the carcases, otherwise it's a money game from which no one really benefits. As, although less crop damage and higher yields from grass crops will result, that's no use to anyone if your birth mortality has been as high as not to have enough stock to utilise it. Rabbit stinks when you're boiling it (we used to cook them often for the dogs, never killed and left them) but there are many more palatable thing to do with them, and they're free! And there's millions of them. I think we should at least have a dog-food factory on the island. Hmmm, Unst beckons.... Pre-Maximatosis era I believe rabbits were more common as food in Shetland, certainly the thought a rabbit they were about to eat *might* be in the early stages of the disease, when no symptoms were still visible, put many people right off the idea of it, and they've never caught on again. Personally I find rabbit meat very bland and tasteless, and that was fried with onions....but that's just me. A pet food factory, even on a small scale is a good idea, and it definitey needs to be someplace well away from much of anything, those places stink to high heaven and beyond, although I guess these days all emissions could be contained and filtered/neutralised, doing so would affect it's potential viability though with the additional plant costs. The only issue which comes quickly to mind which could be a problem for such a venture would be consistency of supply, unless you froze the raw material during a glut to work from during leaner times, but again that's higher set up and maintenance costs. I have heard/read somewhere I *think* that pet food these days can only legally be made from meat that is fit for human consumption, all other meat/offal is required to be incinerated. I may be wrong on this, and even if it is right, I don't know if the regulation applies to game meat, but if it does that means your factory will need a resident, or at least most time resident vet, or other suitably qualified inspector, and will very likely result in, on occasion, a not insignificant percentage of carcases having to be shipped on to Rova Head. Again, if I am right concerning the human consumption rule, it virtually eliminates what could have been a very significant additional source of raw materials, and that's culled sheep and cattle, most of which had had to go simply due to old age, or a disease, that while most likely would prevent them being considered suitable to enter the human food chain, would, in my opinion, be perfectly safe for dog/cat etc food, especially when cooked. I don't think many crofters/farmers would expect paying for those either, if they were collected I think most people would be happy that they'd not had to take the time and energy to have to dig a hole instead. It's a moot point if the human consumption rule applies, but had a factory of this nature existed say 10 years ago, it could have been running at capacity and (hopefully) doing very well from then till now, using only the massive number of old but otherwise healthy sheep with have been culled and buried in holes all over Shetland, simply due to their market value being so low they couldn't justify the fuel cost to take them to the marts. A missed opportunity?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooks Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 I have heard/read somewhere I *think* that pet food these days can only legally be made from meat that is fit for human consumption, all other meat/offal is required to be incinerated. I may be wrong on this, and even if it is right, I don't know if the regulation applies to game meat, but if it does that means your factory will need a resident, or at least most time resident vet, or other suitably qualified inspector, and will very likely result in, on occasion, a not insignificant percentage of carcases having to be shipped on to Rova Head. Again, if I am right concerning the human consumption rule, it virtually eliminates what could have been a very significant additional source of raw materials, and that's culled sheep and cattle, most of which had had to go simply due to old age, or a disease, that while most likely would prevent them being considered suitable to enter the human food chain, would, in my opinion, be perfectly safe for dog/cat etc food, especially when cooked. Indeed this is correct. I believe it came down to the fact that someone might accidentally take a tin of Pedigree Chum out of their cupboard thinking it is a tin of beans and then end up poisoning themselves. Yet another great achievement in this world we live in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 This story was on the lunchtime reporting scotland local news on the telly today, should be repeated later Just in time for Easter. Class! Watch the bunny lover picket lines spring up noo, and traumatised bairns hiding their chocolate..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Sorry, i couldna sit on this one that's doing the rounds.... http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e363/njugle/easter.jpg Happy Easter weekend Now, where's my gun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFly Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 You bad man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenie Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: Njugle's Bunny Wabbits CLASSIC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rourkes Drift Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Perhaps we should cull some of those Ness farmers?[/img][/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted April 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 I just read about the Shetland rabbit cull on an Indian news website. Its a proper international story! From DailyIndia.com - Shetland offers bounty for rabbit tails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 8O This of course, ahem, confirms our close links with the indian nation as recently galvanised by messrs Ratter etc, and to think i was slightly cynical about their trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted April 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Did Drew Ratter go to Malaysia too? Malaysia Sun - Shetland offers bounty for rabbit tails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeemsie Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 20p is peanuts for the expense of ammo and physical time it takes to have an effective cull, hiring professionals to do the job would be much more proactive when you take into account owners of neighbouring land who may or may not try to solve the problem. Last time i decided something needed to be done i managed to get around 40 o the little beggars of a night (around 5 hours) but it hardly made a dent and i didn't have the time or money to keep doing it. (i'm also not that great a shot) only a part-time crofter mind you. and ghostrider is quite correct that this isn't the time of year to be doing it, lamping wi the longer nights of winter is the way to go, besides consideration for lambing. huvna had rabbit stew since afore maxi so i canna mind whit they taste like, dunna think it's worth the effort though, they Eastern folk must be having a right laugh about this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowe Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Sorry, i couldna sit on this one that's doing the rounds.... http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e363/njugle/easter.jpg Happy Easter weekend Now, where's my gun...This just cracks me up every time I see it. Hilarious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.