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I do have a question about the hares/rabbits, however. Are they hares or rabbits? Are they native to Oz? Do you guys eat them? We about lived off rabbits and squirrels when I was a kid with the occasional quail and rare deer....and fish.

The red fox, are they native or did some soul import them?

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I'm amazed anyone has not heard of the Australian rabbit plagues. If you want to see masses of rabbits search those three words.

Rabbits were introduced to Australia with British colonists. Escaped and spread by the millions. In the 1950s they literally covered the land in places. In the 1960s or 70s myxomatosis was introduced and killed off huge numbers of rabbits. In the 1989s or 90s calici virus was introduced.

I throw diseased rabbits away. I give big ones and small ones to the dogs. Medium sized ones in good condition I keep.

Hares are far rarer. Introduced I am guessing for sport. Coursing hares by horse I would guess. I used to enjoy hunting them in the vineyards. I think farm usdof herbicides has reduced hares by destroying weedy verges, fence lines etc where they nest. I used to know my hares movements intimately and where they would be and when.

Hares are good eating. Some local fools just throw them away.

Foxes were introduced for fox hunting sport by horse. They are plentiful and very common. Fine shooting sport though most are shot by spotlight. As are rabbits and hares. Before antis destroyed the fur industry, some shooters made good money spotlighting foxes for the fur industry. Foxes and feral cats are regarded as the chief culprits of marsupial and ground nesting birds extinction or near extinction. Most foxes shot today are wasted. The furs not skinned. A waste if good. We should be tanning them and making them into huge rugs and bed throws.

I attend when I can farm fox drives. Ten to thirty walkers and blockers. Shotguns. Walking twenty or thirty kms in a day, five or so drives. Four to five days.mup to 200 or more foxes culled. Unfortunately they do these shoots in February and March when the foxs are young and stupid. But they have summer fur as well. No furs at all are kept. If they were winter furs 200 furs a year would make several really grand carpets like I saw in Czech.

I hear foxes regularly at night on the farm. Even have heard them at night and seen one on the street once at my city house. Were less than a km from the hills and a railway line and creek nearby where they might live, lurk or travel.

There are no game or wildlife laws protecting rabbits, hares or foxes. Except general cruelty laws. Maybe a state game permit if one is not a farmer. They are regarded as pests. The govt would like them exterminated.

I find them great fun. They are 95% of my hunting. Depending on how the diseases arecworking in thecseason they can be plentiful and I can shoot rabbits from the back garden. Other times more work. I used to have a huge local hunting area but unfortunately property ownership changes meant new owners "no access to any one!" About 50 years I hunted there. Neighbours for generations owned it. We own a block in the middle of it, so they are neighbours.....

Rabbits, hares and foxes are shot and hunted. Most by RFs. Shotguns. Foxes by the same or .17, more likely .22 centrefires. Walked up with dogs or not. Foxes whistled in imitating a squeaking rabbit. Trapped. The teeth spring traps still used by not legal. Or other traps less effective. Spotlighting is very common. Horse fox hunting is ridiculously no longer legal. Drives bag big numbers. I would say rabbits, plus foxes represent by far the most hunting in Australia.

Gentlemen, please add your rabbit, hare and fox hunting and shooting photos and stories.

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John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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