Body count

I was disgusted that anyone would shoot 500 rabbits in an evening [ Inthefield, September issue]; your photograph clearly smacks of mass overkill. Firstly, where would you store so many rabbits? Secondly, Ed Cook surely cannot have an outlet for so many. As a shooter for more than 45 years, I’m amazed you printed such a photo you have just lost a subscriber. After all these years. Very sad.

Steven Oates, via email

Ed Cook says: Thank you for the email and your thoughts. I am a full-time rabbit controller and what I do is not for sport, I provide a service. Shooting 500 rabbits is no walk in the park with a .410 and that night was a notable one.

The work was a done a few years ago on an arable farm and the rabbits had caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage. The pest-control programme they had in place prior to us working there was ineffective, so we got the contract.

To shoot 500 in a night usually means there are a lot more rabbits on the ground. If my memory serves me correctly, we killed around 4,000 off that 1000-acre farm in the first winter using a variety of methods. Rabbits are classed as an invasive species in the UK and bringing their numbers under control to sensible levels is important for habitat and business management.

Secondly, every rabbit I have or my company has been involved with culling has been used constructively. We supply rabbits for human consumption and a lot to the pet-food industry. Those rabbits we shot that night were at a game dealer the very next morning.

You may find our website of interest, which explains what we do: www.evergreenrabbitcontrol.co.uk