Anyone ever hear about hunting with Ferrets?

fixer27

fixer27

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I read an old book on hunting and the author Ragnar Benson mentioned that in the 30's and 40's there were more than a few people who used to hunt with ferrets.

The would muzzle the ferret or feed it before they took them out hunting and then just put them down rabbit holes or other sorts of likely den areas and the ferret would either emerge with a rabbit or what have you or the den would clear out in a hurry.

Has anyone ever seen or heard of this or ferrets being used at all to hunt with?
 
When I was last in Denmark in the late 1960's this was still done in rabit hunting. In the north country around Viborg, there was a huge problem with too many rabbits so hunting them was a kill as many as you could thing. The guide ahd a ferit in a cage he carried along, and put the ferrit down the rabbit hole and when the rabbits exploded out the exit holes you nailed them with the shotgun.

On the minus side, sometimes the ferrit would'nt come when the guide called, so you waited for a while. :rolleyes:
 
jackknife said:
On the minus side, sometimes the ferrit would'nt come when the guide called, so you waited for a while. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ferrets have to eat to......:D

The technique worked for the most part though? I had thought that it sounded strange as ferrets are mostly pets today.
 
This is still a very common method in the UK. There are radio locator collars available in case of a ferret getting a little too happy underground. It's a pretty effective technique, unless you forget to net over a couple of holes, then you get to see a warren full of rabbits hotfooting it to the nearest hedge.
 
I've read about ferrets being used in conjunction with hawks and falcons. Same reasons, send the ferret down to flush the rabbit, and the raptor swoops down and gets it.

Lunumbra
 
I've heard ferrits make for a lively contests in some pubs as well. Something about tying the pants legs at the ankles?:eek:

Codger
 
My grandpa had a couple of ferrets that he hunted with. This was back in the 50s. Probably illegal here but you would have had to know grandpa! :D
Gene
 
I have read that hunting with ferrets (called ferretting) was quite popular in the UK and the Scotish Highlands years ago. I don't know if it is being done today, however, I have seen regulations where it is an illegal practice in some (maybe all, I don't know) states in the United States.
 
The ferret used for ferreting are NOT the fitch (sp?) breed americans keep as pets, I have two of the pet ones and they hold their own with the cat but would not last with something trying to save its life. the european ferrets/weasels used from what I was told are alot bigger than the largest pet ferret. ferreting is illegal in many places.
 
Hi All,
Thought I would chime in here as I know a bit about ferrets. First off the ferrets used for hunting in the UK are the same as the pets we have here. The ferret is a cross between the Siberian pole cat and the Northern European pole cat. It is believed this hydrating was first done by the ancient Egyptians over 3000 years ago and continued to the early 1900s. I don't know if they are still crossing these or not. The reason there seems to be a difference between the Euro ferrets and the U.S. ferrets is because the gene pool in the U.S. is very very thin. There is really only one ferret farm (really two but one major) in the U.S. and they have been inbreeding their ferrets for so long the ferrets are really suffering for it. 90% to 95% of all ferrets in the U.S. die prematurely from some kind of cancer, usually adrenal disease or kidney disease. U.S. ferrets also tend to be a smaller and less aggressive then Euro ferrets. I don't know what the breeding practices are in Europe but I have been told that they don't have the problems over there that we do here.
As for the hunting part they have been used for hunting for several thousand years at least, there is a famous portrait of Catherine the Great holding a ferret in her lap as well as some carvings in Egypt of Pharoahs with ferrets. It have been said that Henry VIII & several other British kings used ferrets to fox hunt. That was kind of perplexing to me as my ferrets where not very big or aggressive, I guess they were meaner back then.

Ric
 
I have a friend who works at a pet store, he insists once they get the taste of blood they go nuts. He told me of one time when one go out and then went into the parakeet open cage next door. He killed 6 parakeets, and when the other lady who worked there started calling the vet, he got out again and killed two more.

My other friend says his let out 6 snakes and killed two, also killed a gray squirrel they had.
 
Its also done here in Germany,its legal but not very common. The ferret either chases the rabbit(s) out and then you use a shotgun or, more likely, you catch them in a net, placed over the exit holes.
 
fixer27 said:
I read an old book on hunting and the author Ragnar Benson mentioned that in the 30's and 40's there were more than a few people who used to hunt with ferrets.
Click to expand...

That's true even today there are some old men who use the same technique in Sicily.
 
If you can find it, read a book called "A Sporting Chance" by Manix. He has a whole chapter on hunting with Ferrets. The book is about hunting with non-traditional methods, i.e. gun, bow, etc.
 
Hi All,
Ferreting is very popular in rural Australia and is a very effective way of controling rabbit numbers in localized areas.The most effective method is to place nets over all the exits of a warren and send in the ferrets, the rabbits are caught in the nets or shot with shotguns, the ferrets will also send up prey much larger than themselves like feral cats and foxes at times .
The ferrets will at times feed whilst in the warren but usually on juvenile rabbits when this occurs is when you will likely have to dig them out as they will often go to sleep after a feed. A true hunting strain is maintained in Australia which is a lot gamer than the pet variety , they are quite fearless and will take on foxes if the need occurs, they are a very supple animal which can turn back on themselves underground to exit the chamber they are in if stuck. The polecat is used to hunt in europe to this day but like a lot of blood sports is losing favor in todays gentle society.
 
My Grandfather back in Ohio apparently used them for rabbits and to clear rats out of his barn in the Depression era. I didn`t realize it was so common though.
 
Hunting with ferret's,dog's and predator birds is still going on in large parts of Europe. Hunting with ferrets on rabbit and terriers on fox are a common practice. Problems are sometimes that you have to dig the ferrets out, and that you have a clear shot on an escaping rabbit when it runs out, because the ferret might be right behind it.
 
just think of the north american wolverine as a 35 lb ferret. on speed and steroids. mwa hah hah... even the larger bears don't want to tangle with one. no way.

the average american domestic ferret is so imprinted on its kibble that they have no idea what to do to/with a rabbit - but the rabbit still knows to run like the wind or try. ever hear a rabbit scream? nasty - sounds like someone's extremely upset human baby. ewww. some folx use their ferret's poop in the garden to keep the pests at bay. that imprinting thing is strong enough too, that an escaped or "let go" ferret will likely starve to death in short order. too domestic. most cats and dogs could and can go feral. trivia: the black footed ferret isn't a ferret, it's a weasel iirc. still wild, very endangered.

they're cute as the dickens as a rule. the females are soooo tiny compared to the males. the females are also the ones that are the most nasty imho. the males are very layed back :) darling little "carpet sharks"

now, european, ferrets, weasels and their cousins - those things are as has been said, a lot more uppity. wouldn't want those guys in my trousers :)

bladite
 
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