ABC OF FERRETING

In this column, Simon outlines the essentials of good ferreting

IS A FERRET MORE THAN JUST A FERRET?

It sounds obvious, but ferrets are the cornerstone of this sport. Without them, you are simply going for a walk with a spade, a dog and some nets. With them, you are experiencing a world like no other. But is a ferret just a ferret? I get asked this all the time, especially during the breeding season, but my answer has changed over time.

I look at my ferrets as a squad. They are a collection of individuals that all have their place and time to work. Failure is the best teacher and I still learn from it to this day. It is the warren that dictates to me, as well as the size of the rabbits I am ferreting for. I do not like micro ferrets, for example. There’s nothing wrong with them but I prefer to work the bully.

I do, however, like light-coloured or white ferrets. Not because they work better, but because I can see them. Their colour is a visual aid. I am a great advocate of working neutered hobs too, as I ferret throughout the year and hormones can strip any working animal of its drive and sanity. They need to be bred right and have drive, but it must be combined with social skills.

These intricacies of working ferrets are bred into them through the DNA of working lines. Small, subtle traits that, when combined, make a huge difference, none more so than prey drive. This is the one single thing that defines how the ferret will work. There is an argument for nurture over nature but, when the battle lines are drawn, they need to want the fight. The ferret needs to instinctively want to find, flush or stay in the midst of the often violent environment underground.

If the vast majority of people continue to insist that a ferret is just a ferret, then a dog is just a dog, a horse is just a horse — but we all know that isn’t the case.

and we were reassured as the dogs were at least starting to find rabbits. Dotty found a collection of holes in the middle of the field. Ferrets Jaws and Whitey were entered, two heavyweight hobs intent on doing

“The rabbits’ low centre of gravity can make the best of dogs appear slow”

their business quickly — and they did. A rabbit erupted and took an early lead over its pursuers.

The field wasn’t easy for a dog. Deceptive little mounds gave the impression of a flatter terrain but they are like rabbit motorways. And the rabbits’ low centres of gravity can make the best of dogs appear slow.

I felt empathy for rabbits. As a prey species, their eyes have 180-degree vision, so they can see what or who is after them. It’s a great survival tool. However, if I were that particular rabbit, the last thing I would want to see is Tawny with one eye and Dotty with the other.

The rabbit in question certainly gave a good account of itself, twisting and turning, manoeuvring around these small mounds. It evaded them at first but the lurchers’ collie brain took over.

Tawny and Dotty split up. Their running style changed; instead of trying to catch this rabbit, they aimed to make it turn into itself. It did. It was being herded and once it made that error, Dotty’s mouth opened and the bunny was retrieved back to me.

Collie style

One negative of Dotty’s ferreting style can be her posture in high wind. She lies like a collie and, whatever I do, I cannot make her stand up. This posture was giving the rabbits a head start that we could ill afford. Twice the rabbits ran at full pelt and, without breaking stride, careered through a tiny gap in the stone wall. This highlighted the difference between mother and daughter. Tawny has shocking peripheral vision and would simply go through the wall, whereas Dotty slowed up at the last moment, swung to the side and returned to the warren empty-mouthed.

This is why we love ferreting. It is primal and primitive, but when practised like this it is the finest example of nature’s opera. Dance partners doing what they were bred for among good friends. Torchie was the architect of the line, the conductor of the twine. Shaun always ensured that we all had a piping-hot drink and some food to keep us going for the afternoon’s walk.

We finished the outing with more smiles and laughs than rabbits, but days like these are very special. We did well, if not a patch on the bags up here from yesteryear. But who cares? The ferrets grafted, the dogs ran their hearts out and everybody enjoyed my hospitality. What more could you ask for in a day’s sport?

Eyes on the prize: Dotty closes in on her rabbit

The two dogs have done their job well and Sooty quickly and humanely despatches their rabbit

The day’s bag was not as impressive as some, but the team accounts for a fair few bunnies