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Posted	hunting with ferrets
19-10-2006 by damien	can anyone tell if you need to train ferrets to hunt rabbits or is it possible to just stick them down the warrens
20-10-2006 by KAY GARDNER	There is a lot more to ferreting than just sticking a ferret down a rabbit hole.some ferrets can be lazy and will end up staying down there if they manage to get a rabbit.Which means digging them out. My motherinlaws partner does regular ferreting for a local farmer and it is not as simple as what you have asked. The ferrets have to be tagged so you can track them too. A ferret will either hunt or it won't as it is a natural predatory instinct for them.some ferrets will need a bit of training before their first hunt to give them the idea.It may be best if you can get a decent book on ferreting.TFH are bound to do some.or get on line to Amazon,they are connected with Waterstones where i managed to find a decent book for my motherinlaw as she rescues ferrets.
20-10-2006 by damien	thanks for ur help, wasnt plannign to just stick them down a hole, plan to get them microchipped in a couple of weeks time and im investing in a ferret finder and collars, plus im still training mine to come to me on command, clicker training is very effective
21-10-2006 by KAY GARDNER	Ferrets are very intellegent and wrongly get a bad reputation as they do carry their own odour and some odd balls are known to be aggressive.Neutering does help. You may find there are readers who are totally against ferreting so be aware of this,as there are big bunny lovers out there. i'm a big lover of rabbits myself,but see both sides of the fence when it comes to rabbit ferreting,if it is done humanely so the bunnies don't suffer, to keep numbers down and to keep myximotosis at bay.I have to think of my pet bunnies. Other sports like-hare hunting with hounds and fox and deer hunting are sports done for total pleasure and i am totally against them.
22-10-2006 by damien	i am agaisnt hunting with dogs as i feel its not a true sport. but i wont preach to you about shooting, ive been a shooter since i was 17 and love my hobby, but ive learnt not to try and change peoples opinions(each to their own)all ill say is find out about a hobby b4 u judge it. its not always for fun.
23-10-2006 by KAY GARDNER	If there is a good reason behind shooting/hunting.i.e:to keep disease down or too many numbers that are upsetting the population then ok i can quite understand,as long as the way is humane in the way that it is done. but as you say we can end up having a huge debate on this that could go on and on and on.so we won't go there.
23-10-2006 by jessica	all a matter of opinion guys...
24-10-2006 by damien	cant argue with that comment Kay,thpugh i can say, believe it or not, shooting rabbits with an air-rifle is humane, most airgunners will only go for a head shot so death is instant and painless, although some shots are not perfect hunters should no how to quickly dispatch an animal quickly, us hunters do have respect for what we stalk and shoot, and most of us eat what we shoot, so its never wasted. sadly there are people out there that abuse their ownership of owning a gun/rifle and ruin it for everyone else who take their sport seriously, these are the people that give shooting a bad name in the press.
24-10-2006 by KAY GARDNER	i agree with your humane,instaintainous shooting method. You are quite right about other abusive people.I think they aught to be put in the animals position if they behave ignorantly,to show them the torture they are un-necessarly causing.
24-10-2006 by damien	cheers for that Kay
07-11-2006 by marco	hi damien,what i normaly do to start the ferrets off working is get your hands on a dead rabbit(road kill)will do,get a length of pipe 3 to 4in and drag the rabbit through and let the ferret follow it through and grab it,yes it is instinctive for the ferret to hunt but a little early training will help,the ferret will think every time it goes into a pipe or warren there will be a reward for him/her thats what ive done for the last 20 years with good success,thanks mark