Ferret Hunting Tips
Ferrets are natural hunters of rabbits, mice, and other pests living in burrows. For centuries, farmers have used these sleek and frisky critters to eliminate rabbits and rodents destroying their crops. Although it is difficult to say when the ferrets began to be used as hunting animals, but there are accounts to suggest that as early as 2500 years ago the ancient Greeks were coming up with ferret hunting ideas. About 2000 years ago when rabbits caused an epidemic in Balearic Islands in Mediterranean, people used ferrets to get rid of rabbits. In the thirteenth century England, a ferreter was appointed to Royal Court.
Using ferrets for hunting is also known as ferreting. It involves identifying the burrows in the field, positioning trapping nets on all the holes of the burrow except one, and then sending the ferret down this hole to drive out pests hiding there. When these rodents come out from the holes they either get trapped in the nets or are killed by the people waiting there. In an ideal situation, ferrets merely drive out the pests from their underground warrens.
If your ferret is hungry when it goes into the burrow, the chances are high that it will kill some prey, feed on it, and happily go to sleep right there – and your hunting expedition is finished. So feed your pet properly before leaving for the field, but not so much that would make it sleepy soon.
The success of your hunting mission primarily depends upon on how accurately you know about the burrows in the hunting field. An important part is the pre-hunting observation of the field; ideally you should be able to spot all the holes leading to the burrows and position your trapping nets there. The holes that you miss out provide escape routes to the rodents when the hunting begins.
It is best if you position yourself at some strategic location somewhat away from the field and use binoculars to trace the movements of the rabbits. This will give you a fair idea about possible number of holes, and hence the number of nets needed to be arranged. There is another danger of leaving some holes undiscovered. These holes will not only allow the rodents to escape, but your ferret can also go far away chasing the preys and it may never come back to you again.
The best way to track the movements of your ferret is to use an electronic tracking device that can be mounted as a collar on the critter. This is of great help in monitoring the movements of the ferret particularly when it goes into the burrows; there may be situations when you have to dig the ground and bring the ferret out.
The natural hunting instincts of ferrets provides a more humane way to control pests, as opposed to the practice of using harmful gasses and poisonous chemicals to eradicate them, which cause agonizing and long drawn deaths. Just last year, the city of Helsinki in Finland used ferrets to bring down rabbits population in the city.
