Rabbit hunting tips

Catching rabbit with traps and snares

It is possible to trap rabbits using a snare, day and night, for a few months (early December to the end of February). You should always check the regulations in place by consulting the free brochure that annually summarizes hunting regulations. Note that these regulations vary from one provincial game hunting area to another. Don't forget to get the annual trapping licence! There is no limit to how many rabbits you can capture and sell.

Where can snowshoe rabbits be caught? In most rural or semi-urban areas, you can snare close to home. Rabbits live along roads, fields and woods.

During the day, rabbits rest. At dusk, they begin to prowl in search for food until dawn the next day. They are night travellers. You have a greater chance of catching a rabbit using snares rather than a firearm: the snare works for you overnight, when hunting with firearms is prohibited.

How to make a snare? From the store, grab brass wire rolls, a flexible and resistant material. Cut this wire in 60 cm-bits. At one end of your wire, make a tiny loop (appx. 0.5 cm) by rolling the wire around itself a few times. You will then thread the other end of the wire into that loop, forming a lasso.

Where should you put your snares? The snares should be set up somewhere between where the rabbit feeds and where it rests. Rabbits almost always use the same paths. By doing so, they clear a sort of "highway" that branches out to different areas.

How to set up a snare? Plant a branch diagonally above the main path used by the rabbits. Tie the loose end of your brass wire "lasso" to this branch. The circumference of your snare, or lasso, should not be much larger than your closed fist. The snare should be suspended at appx. 7 cm from the ground of the rabbit trail.

The branch to which you attach the collar must be sufficiently long and strong and it should be made of green wood so that it does not break. It should be flexible enough and planted deep enough to take the hit. The rabbit, once it is trapped by the snare, will struggle and try to break the brass wire with one big jerk.

To direct the rabbit toward your snares, delineate the corridor by planting dry twigs or small branches of fir on both sides of the snare. You can also place crossing twigs under the snare: the rabbit will jump over this small obstacle to avoid tearing his fur, hence placing its head through the snare.

Never walk in rabbit trails to avoid disorienting the animals. They won't go to your snares anymore if they do not recognize their path.

Tie a piece of land surveyor's tape (fluorescent orange) to a higher branch located above each one of your snares to find them more easily (especially useful after a good snow). Make daily rounds to check your snares. If you expect that you won't be able to do it for a few days, make sure to remove or raise your snares.

Where to hunt for rabbit

This small game lives in a relatively small territory, covering an average of 500 m², maximum, which is comparable to an average suburb lot. What it needs is a wooded area, in which there will be enough trees to provide shelter and food, especially in winter.

The rabbit's favourite habitat? Mixed woods. It finds protection against weather and predators in balsam fir stands and cedar bushes. It also needs regenerating hardwoods, which provide abundant food. Large maple stands are seldom used by rabbits—they prefer a relatively dense forest cover. Rabbits are not very common in places where there is too much grass and not enough trees. Nonetheless, the trees should not be too close to one another, because there isn't enough light that reaches the ground and that prevents vegetation from growing, which results in less food for the rabbit.

Rabbits can also be found in areas that are inhabited or easily accessible for humans. Hunters will find this small game close to home, especially in rural and semi-rural areas. Try visiting woodlands that are found near roads and highways, and those found around cultivated fields. That is where humans have made the most important alterations to forests, hence where you will find the most mixed woods.

During the day, rabbits rest under branch piles, felled tree trunks, or dense brushes. If you are hunting rabbit with a rifle during the day, follow their trails—they will lead you to their hideouts. Rabbits always use the same trails to get around: you will easily recognize them, especially in winter, because they will constantly pack and harden the snow in the same places.

Rabbits travel by night. At dusk, they begin to prowl in search of food until dawn the next day. If you use snares to catch rabbits, you should place your snares in its main trails, the ones it uses to search for food.

The rabbit's food is quite diverse, depending on the region and the plants that can be found in these areas. In the summer, rabbits generally feed on herbaceous plants. But in winter, they prefer the buds, stems and bark of woody plants.

To snare or hunt rabbit during fall and winter, try avoiding open maple forests and dense coniferous stands. Try hunting in mixed woods, with a lot of young shrubs.

Rabbits spend a lot of energy. They must therefore eat a lot of food. Well-fed rabbits breed more easily. But then, they put a lot of pressure on their habitat, which often cannot meet the demand. By having access to less food, they start getting sick and contaminated with parasites, and therefore breed less. This is what causes their numbers to decline, up to 10 times less than at the peak of their abundance.

Remember that abundant rabbits attract predators, such as lynx, foxes, coyotes, owls, etc. This is why, in a given area, you will find abundant rabbits for a few years and they then become scarce in the following years. This cycle generally lasts ten years. Note that rabbits can be very abundant in a given area, but much less so in a neighbouring sector. Harvesting by snaring and hunting has very little impact on the rabbit population.