"Wild" Domestic Rabbits?

[MadHatter]

I live in a place with a lot of domestic Rabbits around my house. Some look to be totally domesticated and some look to be crossed with the local population of cotton tail rabbit that's we have around. Now obviously the cotton tail fall into the established hunting season, but where to "wild" domestic Rabbits fall? I would think nuisance or varmint but figured I would check here before declaring war on them... The legality of shooting where I am aside, would there be anything prohibiting me from shooting them and using them?

Sent from my sniper hide...

[NW-GSP]

I would use a bow but would check with fish and game first

[Heredoggydoggy]

I don't think the Game Dept. cares about hybrids.  A few years ago a guy shot a coyote up in the N E corner of the state, and when he looked at it close up, it had some wolf characteristics to it.  He took it to the game department to see if he was in trouble, and they told him it was a hybrid coyote/wolf cross, and they didn't care if they got shot or not.

Where, and how you kill those crossbred rabbits might be another thing, though....

[MadHatter]

Well I wasn't looking at going after the hybrids just the ones that are ferral and and appear to be former domestic rabbits. There are however cotton tails around with droopy ears and ones that look to be like 12+lbs.  Saw one the other day that was cotton tail tan with black spots and one floppy ear. Thing was pretty sad looking.  It appears that the domestic rabbits are destroying the cotton tail population by interbreeding with them. Pretty soon I would guess there will be no more cotton tails around here and just franken-bunnies running around...

Sadly I live on the last remaining acrage properties in the area and I am surrounded by developments, which is probably who is turning the ferrals lose... I just couldn't find anything relating to ferral rabbit in the game manual or in the game laws...

Sent from my sniper hide...

[KenPCPilot]

Air rifle shooting .22 caliber Predator PolyMag pellets good for dispatching pests quick and humanely.  You have to still be very safe in populated areas. 

[lokidog]

There is no season or bag limit on European rabbits.  Follow firearm/archery discharge rules and you will be fine.  Hopefully by "use" you mean eat as they are well worth the effort to clean and eat, nice light meat, lots of it, and good flavor.  I wish we had some 12 pounders around here, maybe the mink would have a harder time on them.  We used to have a lot but the population has dropped considerably in the last four years so we don't hunt them anymore.   

[bobcat]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/rabbits.html

[Airnip]

 European domesticated rabbits have the wild color Agouti a sort of brownish gray. The two Orctolagus from Europe and Sylvilagus from America can't interbreed. Genetic difference too wide to even mix something in between like a mule. A rabbit that has any other color, ear carriage, or size different from a cotton tail is some variety of domestic.

 A Jackrabbit isn't a rabbit; it is a hare.

Back 1755 some dude named Byon C. Varlo came to America with a document from King George claiming that he had purchased rights making him defacto king of America. After being refused service and pretty much ignored by the population on the east coast. Down to his last money he wrote a popular book to get passage back to England. " A New System of Husbandry". It includes directions on how to start and operate a free range rabbit warren. Methods that worked back in the old country.

The only population of European rabbits to survive as wild on the ground in America is on the San Juan Island's. Just too many rabbit eating critters and birds.

To dump a caged rabbit on the lawn and expect it to revert to wild is about as far fetched as releasing poodles expecting them to live like coyotes.

 

[hillbilli]

the big white/mixed rabbits are tasty, and the bow does a number on them.. as will a pellet gun or .22 short CB's out of a single shot if you have neighbors who complain about noise.. i've found out of a high speed bow the 'judo' point, or copy therof with the wire claws is well worth it for rabbits, as it pretty much always stops the arrow, and you dont lose the arrow o the rabbit.. the last one I killed with the recurve was 20yds with just a field point, and that worked too.

[MadHatter]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/rabbits.html

So domestic rabbits are good to go, what about hybrids? Do they fall into the domestic side or the wild side of their DNA for hunting purposes?

I actually use an air rifle for small varmints around here, have plenty of room and great backstops, been shooting starlings all sping...

Sent from my sniper hide...

[KenPCPilot]

European domesticated rabbits have the wild color Agouti a sort of brownish gray. The two Orctolagus from Europe and Sylvilagus from America can't interbreed. Genetic difference too wide to even mix something in between like a mule. A rabbit that has any other color, ear carriage, or size different from a cotton tail is some variety of domestic.

 A Jackrabbit isn't a rabbit; it is a hare.

Back 1755 some dude named Byon C. Varlo came to America with a document from King George claiming that he had purchased rights making him defacto king of America. After being refused service and pretty much ignored by the population on the east coast. Down to his last money he wrote a popular book to get passage back to England. " A New System of Husbandry". It includes directions on how to start and operate a free range rabbit warren. Methods that worked back in the old country.

The only population of European rabbits to survive as wild on the ground in America is on the San Juan Island's. Just too many rabbit eating critters and birds.

To dump a caged rabbit on the lawn and expect it to revert to wild is about as far fetched as releasing poodles expecting them to live like coyotes.

Informative post.  I feel like I am back in college again. 

[lokidog]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/rabbits.html

So domestic rabbits are good to go, what about hybrids? Do they fall into the domestic side or the wild side of their DNA for hunting purposes?

I actually use an air rifle for small varmints around here, have plenty of room and great backstops, been shooting starlings all sping...


Sent from my sniper hide...

If it is not a cottontail, you are good to go.  Any color other than brown, I wouldn't hesitate.  If you for sure have cottontails in the area, make sure you just shoot the oversized brown ones or other colors.  Likely, unless you have a rabbit-loving neighbor, there will never be an issue.

[MadHatter]

No, my two neighbors have problems with them in their gardens... So they are glad to see the population diminish...

Sent from my sniper hide...

[geodoc]

Cottontails can't interbreed with domestic rabbits (not sure of the reason, just know it's so).  If you're seeing rabbits with big floppy ears, they're domesticated.

[billythekidrock]

Cottontails can't interbreed with domestic rabbits (not sure of the reason, just know it's so).  If you're seeing rabbits with big floppy ears, they're domesticated.

Correct.
http://suite101.com/article/domestic-vs-wild-rabbits-a126812

"Cottontails and domestic rabbits can not interbreed (nor can hares or jackrabbits interbreed with cottontails or domestic rabbits.) Human attempts at cross-species artificial insemination have resulted in nothing but dead embryos."