Controlling Rabbit Numbers, Gloucestershire
Your responsibility to control rabbit numbers
You must obey the law to control rabbit numbers on your property or land. England was declared a rabbit clearance area under the Pests Act 1954.
You must control rabbits on your land in this area. If this is not possible, you must stop them causing damage to adjoining crops by putting up rabbit proof fencing. If you don’t take action, the Secretary of State for the Environment can enforce control and prosecute you.
You can control rabbits using these methods:
Traps and snares
Fencing
Ferreting
Shooting
Why would you control or exterminate rabbits?
Apart from your legal obligations, there are a number of reasons why rabbits need to be controlled.
For example, if you’re dealing with landscapes or areas that home stables and/or any other wildlife like horses. Holes created by nearby pest rabbits can be unsightly and unappealing to garden owners – especially if they have other animals in the area. These rabbit holes can cause serious harm to people, horses and other animals stepping into the holes and potentially causing themselves injury.
When you can shoot rabbits
If you are the occupier of land you can shoot rabbits on your land during the day and can authorise in writing one other person to do so.
That person must be part of your household, one of your staff, or be employed for reward to specifically control the rabbits.
Here at Gooch Pest Control, we are licenced gun carriers and, with your permission as the land owner, we can carry out shooting on site – just get in touch.
If the owner of the shooting rights for your land does not agree to destroy the rabbits themselves or allow you to use extra shooters, we can apply to Natural England for authority to do so.
Why Gooch Pest Control?
We can provide a professional solution.
We are a family run company with more than 30 years’ experience, so rest assured we will provide a discreet, professional and dependable rabbit control service.
Simply give us a call on 01242 528 564 to arrange for a local expert to visit your property and provide a tailored treatment.
To find out more on rabbits and methods of control and eradication, never hesitate to get in touch – even if it’s just for advice, we're more than willing to have a chat and find a solution for you.
You can trust that we will endeavour to eradicate the problem from your land or property as soon as possible.
