Rabbits on VI

[tailgate77]

I know there are a pile of rabbits around the Comox Valley, but are they feral bunnies or are they a wild species? I am not sure what they are. I can't find anything about them in the regs. Any info?

[Monashee]

They are feral. It doesn't take long for large domestic rabbits that are released into the wild to breed and after a litter or two to produce a smaller , all brown rabbit. It seems that rabbits do better when the weather is drier , long spells of cool damp weather kills off quite a few it appears. I don't know if predation has any serious effect on rabbit numbers in the Comox Valley.

I have seen one fox in the Dove Creek area about 25 years ago it appeared to be an adult , dark grey in color and quite small . Apparently there used to be a fox farm somewhere on the island that had some foxes escape quite a few years back .

[mikek blacktail]

shoot them all I thought the cotton tails made it over from the mainland but I could be wrong

[Frango]

The brown bush rabbit was introduced a few years ago.Now some stupid people have been releasing the family pet they got for easter.They now breed together.So one problem becomes a bigger problem.We sure know how to screw things up.

[YukonJack]

Eastern Cottontails....released from a petting-zoo in Sooke many moons ago. I have the hide from a cross-breed that grew to an enormous size. It's white where a cottontail is brown, and black in the usual places. Only it's twice the size of a normal bunny.
In the reg's, you'll find them in the "scheduled" section....Mmmm Eastern Cottontails....what fun!!

[Jager]

I believe they are mostly cottontails with the larger feral bunnies nearer the urban areas. The cottontails are a schedule B or C animal and can be hunted without a hunting license ( a new change in the regs). I'm still trying to figure out a method to get them. Year round hunting sounds good to me.