The American Beagler Forum

I always hated the bar hunts when I lived In Pennsylvania. My neighbor had a field that was about 60 acres that had brier patches all over it. Every time one of those hunts took place multiple groups would come in there. They would go to each brier patch and a couple guys would set up and one would walk through and they would jump shoot everything they could. After a couple weekends of that you couldn't hardly jump a rabbit there. It may not have been that hard on the population if you are talking about how many are in the whole state but it decimated the population in the area by my house.

We have less rabbits more from predators than anything else possibly the 7’ blast of snow a few years back put a heavy hit on them also but slowly they are coming back. We have had rabbit derbies for the past 12 years raising 10s of thousands of dollars for teenage girls with cancer and many other illnesses children and families in need. It’s turned into a very great event . The rabbits are cleaned and served at our youth derby 2 weeks later which has over the years made a day where Dad and Mom takes the kids hunting and a lot of years the youth hunters have harvested thier first rabbit . It would be a shame for us too lose our derbies. The bill they are trying too get past now would end all derbies hunting and fishing and end trials . If they get that what’s next ?

I believe that the population was down in my area because of all the rain we had -the Baby Rabbits drown in the nest ?
Jim