Hello, rabbit experts!
I am at my wits end. About a week ago, we suddenly became aware of a juvenile wild rabbit being in our garden. This was a quite a surprise because we are at least 5 gardens and 2 roads away from open countryside. Our dog has been very excited by this new interest in the garden, since he has a very strong prey drive. Since the rabbit has entered our garden via the various hedgehog holes we have created between neighbour's gardens, I naturally assumed that the rabbit would keep moving and this wouldn't be a problem for long. However, here we are, a week later, and the rabbit has stuck around, seemingly using a shallow void under our summerhouse as safe shelter. Our dog is now banned from the garden so the rabbit is safe and is still occasionally seen in our neighbour's garden too, but we can't have this situation indefinitely - if I let the dog out, I've no doubt he will catch the rabbit eventually and being an ex pet rabbit owner, I have too much love and respect for the species to allow that to happen. So what do I do?
I was planning to humanly trap the bun but I've read similar forum posts about suitable release sites and yep, I'm not sure he's going to be accepted by any of the existing warrens due to his extended absence. He's not been tamed in any way of course but I want the very best for him. Advice please
I am at my wits end. About a week ago, we suddenly became aware of a juvenile wild rabbit being in our garden. This was a quite a surprise because we are at least 5 gardens and 2 roads away from open countryside. Our dog has been very excited by this new interest in the garden, since he has a very strong prey drive. Since the rabbit has entered our garden via the various hedgehog holes we have created between neighbour's gardens, I naturally assumed that the rabbit would keep moving and this wouldn't be a problem for long. However, here we are, a week later, and the rabbit has stuck around, seemingly using a shallow void under our summerhouse as safe shelter. Our dog is now banned from the garden so the rabbit is safe and is still occasionally seen in our neighbour's garden too, but we can't have this situation indefinitely - if I let the dog out, I've no doubt he will catch the rabbit eventually and being an ex pet rabbit owner, I have too much love and respect for the species to allow that to happen. So what do I do?
I was planning to humanly trap the bun but I've read similar forum posts about suitable release sites and yep, I'm not sure he's going to be accepted by any of the existing warrens due to his extended absence. He's not been tamed in any way of course but I want the very best for him. Advice please
