permaculture

[Judith Hanna <jehanna@gn.apc.org>]

At 11:29 29/11/00 -0600, you wrote:
>[this didnt seem to come thru yesterday, trying again...]
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>just a small ode to tree tubes here.
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>at Dreamtime we have a 2 1/2 acre forest farm demonstration that weve been
>growing for about 7 years or so.  In the first 5 years I would say that we
lost
>more than 50% of each years plantings to mice & rabbits.  (& the 5th year was
>way more drastic)...    so we bit the bullet & put everything in tree
tubes or
>wire cages & have been doing that "religiously" since.  just did a walk
thru to
>see if there is any rabbit damage so far & I could not find one tree that had
>been touched.  in fact, since there is a blanket of snow I was able to see
the
>patterning of wear the rabbits went & they do not even approach the tree
tubes,
>so they are acting as visual barriers as well.
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>we've been discussing live trapping rabbits & keeping them in a pen &
fattening
>them up for a few months before butchering them, has anyone made use of them
>like this....
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Dear Mikal

Growing up on an Australian farm, we simply trapped or shot them and
butchered them straight away, without putting time and effort into keeping
them in cages. 

As I recall, Mat Dunwell at Ragman's Lane Farm near Gloucester in the UK
harvests the rabbits that share the vegegarden on his farm under control by
tunnel/box live traps in the surrounding hedgerows, then similarly quick
butchery and consumption.

Certainly, the permacultural logic is that with herbivores whose strategy
is to outbreed predation, it makes sense to act as the local top predator
and harvest that resource -- not import protein. We also tanned their skins
for various uses (eg slippers), rubbing in a salt and alum mix with
Aboriginal rubbing stones picked up from the paddocks and admirably well
adapted to the purpose. 

Poor little bunnies, of course -- but in Australia a very serious
ecological introduced pest.

JH


Judith Hanna
jehanna@gn.apc.org
15 Jansons Rd, Tottenham, London N15 4JU