A fledgling ferreter

A) Ferrets hunt by prey drive and are motivated by a natural instinct to satisfy their desire to hunt. I would start a ferret that is new to working on a small warren, as inexperienced ferrets may find a large warren too big to work thoroughly. Nevertheless, no matter how experienced a ferret becomes, you should avoid using a single ferret on a big warren. Large warrens require multiple ferrets, so if you have big workings, it may pay you to bring along a friend or two with their ferrets.

To catch the bolting rabbits, you will need purse-nets and long-nets. Once caught in a net, you then have the responsibility of despatching the rabbits as humanely and efficiently as possible. One of the best methods is to take a firm hold of the back of the neck with one hand and an equally strong hold of the back legs and pull apart while holding the neck at an angle of 45°. This breaks the rabbit?s neck instantly.

About the author

Simon Whitehead

A Suffolk-based professional ferreter and rabbit controller, author and Shooting Times contributor, Simon is known widely as The Ferret Man and acknowledged as the last full-time warrener operating in Britain. Born in Middlesbrough in 1968, he moved with his parents to Suffolk in 1984 after the collapse of Cleveland's steel industry, and turned a boyhood fascination into a business in 2001, demonstrating ferreting at country shows nationwide through the summer and controlling rabbits in rural and urban East Anglia through the winter. Simon has become ferreting's premier demonstrator in the UK, sits on the Shooting Times expert panel and writes regularly for the magazine. He is the author of four books, including Ferreting: An Essential Guide, published by Crowood, and Ahead of the Game, celebrating wild rabbit as food, and has appeared in television programmes on rabbit management.

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