Awful Dilemma

[Chaser]

What do you do when, while out walking the dog, you come across a rabbit in the latter stages of myximatosis? When I was young I saw rabbits & chickens having their necks wrung but I have never done it myself & I wouldn't dream of attempting it unless I was certain of a quick & final outcome, which I'm not! However, it is awfully hard to walk on and leave an animal so obviously suffering.

[Earlybird Sue]

I know - it's a very hard thing to do, but a sharp blow to the head with a heavy stick or stone is the quickest way to put an end to the suffering. I had to do it to a fatally injured muntjac last year which was not easy but better by far than leaving it to a slow death.

Sue

[Cowgirl]

Hi Chaser, I sympathise with you. I know all the correct procedures for humanely despatching lots of types of animals but I still find it very hard to do.

I once hit a rabbit on the road, when I looked back it was still alive but struggling across the road & looked as though it's back was broken so I knew I had to despatch it, having nothing in the car (didn't think about the wheel nut lever thingy!) I knew your suposed to break it's neck, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. With pheasants I usually swing them hard (motorists over the years have had the bizarre site of a mad scotswoman doing an impression of throwing the hammer with a pheasant by the side of the road ) against a tree or gatepost.

Anyway, I thought rabbit is bigger not as easy maybe. I then looked about for a big stone or branch, course you can never find one when you need one, but I did find an empty wine bottle so I used that, one blow (it was on soft ground) & it was over (I checked!) It's actually taken me longer to explain than do it, it all took a few seconds of a high adrenalin state of panic. I then got back in the car & bawled my eyes out. But my point is, honest I'm getting there, is that it's worse to leave an animal in obvious distress it's hard but you do have to grit your teeth & do it!

I know some people will disagree but it's up to you to decide whether or not you agree. I can see both sides of the arguement but this is only my own personal opinion.

[Gill Catton]

Some rabbits do recover from this - but I'm not sure who sick they get before they get better if you know what I mean.

I'm a massive softy and not sure I could kill an animal with my bare hands even for its own good.

I experianced the broken half-run-over rabbit thing too, a little baby one that got clipped by a car going the other way to me, and it jumped around for a bit obviously seriously injured then just huddled in the middle of the road it took me 3 goes in my car to run it over and properly kill it, I kept swerving at the last minute and missing it completely.

In fact I only persisted because of a memory I had of coming across another similarly broken rabbit when I was about 18 and I hadn't been able to pluck up the guts to do anything about it and had just driven on spending the rest of my journey in tears so upset that I didn't have the courage to end its suffering (thankfully one of my best friends ahd come up the road shortly after me had seen the rabbit got out and dispatched it so it only had a few more minutes of suffering)- I was determined not to let that happen again because of my own silly weakness!

I hope I'd be able to pluck up that kind of courage again to defeat my weakness if an animal was suffering - but not sure If I'd kill a Mxy rabbit because I wouldn't be sure if it might get better.

[faz]

Originally Posted by Earlybird Sue

I know - it's a very hard thing to do, but a sharp blow to the head with a heavy stick or stone is the quickest way to put an end to the suffering. I had to do it to a fatally injured muntjac last year which was not easy but better by far than leaving it to a slow death.

Sue

i always hold the rabbit by its back legs face down and one firm blow to the base of the neck will surfice like a karate chop but not if you what i mean i have used this method for many years, but different ways of despatching different animals hope this helps

[Miss Caretaker]

It is an awful dilemma. Some of the children at the school I work at found a grey squirrel with a broken back on our playing field last month. It's back legs were a mess where it had been dragging them along. I had to dispatch it as there was no way it was going to heal but it took me a while to pluck up the courage to hit it on the head and I was in floods of tears afterwards but I am gld it's pain was ended. I don't know how it got in that condition (a girl, it was) whether a cat got it or it was in a fight with another squirrel. We have their summer drey in our grounds so there are plenty of others to fill the gap she left. Needless to say, I told the children that she passed away peacefully; there are some things they don't need to know about at 8 yrs old
Jo

[whaleomeloette]

i found a rabbit with very very bad mixo once, i went over to it in order to pick it up (no idea what i thought i was going to do) but it was in the middle of a grass bit on a road which wasnt safe. i managed to get right behind it as it couldnt see, but a car scared it off and it ran away

im lucky to have never ran anything over dispite living in a rualish area and going on the wales back roads alot.

[JoulesH]

It can be quite hard to physically pull the neck of a rabbit (you don't need to twist). If you're not sure you can despatch it with a karate chop or a blow with a stick etc, then my fool proof method - hold by its back legs and place head on the floor, place foot firmly on head and pull firmly. You will feel the spinal column break - so it's dead. If you over do it you will actually pull the head off, but again, it's dead.

[faz]

Originally Posted by JoulesH

It can be quite hard to physically pull the neck of a rabbit (you don't need to twist). If you're not sure you can despatch it with a karate chop or a blow with a stick etc, then my fool proof method - hold by its back legs and place head on the floor, place foot firmly on head and pull firmly. You will feel the spinal column break - so it's dead. If you over do it you will actually pull the head off, but again, it's dead.

yes as i said