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'HERE S ONL sitting' said Graham's Alton Webster last Iuesday during a snowstorm in Caswell County.It was the last day of rabbit hunting season and Webster, who travels across the United States performing his duties as a member of the American Kennel Club executive staff, was getting his last chance to enjoy his favorite sport.He slowly inched his arm towards the side of a gully andwith a lightning thrust grabbed a cottontail rabbit by the scruff of its neckThere, he said, holding the struggling bunny aloft for his hunting partners to see.He shrugged off the feat matter-of-factly.Oh. I ve done that a lot of times, he said. It's not to difficult 1 he hardest part is seeing the rabbit. They're pretty well camouflaged They'll sit very still if you don't make any quick movements. They think you can’t see them.I think I 11 let this one go, he said.He dropped the kicking bunny to the ground and the hare bounded away, kicking snow at each leap Webster and his partners along with a fine pack of beagles had jumped three rabbits in about thirty minutes that morning The area seemed to have a good population This is a farm and the owner has planted a lot of wheat and orchard grass, said Webster But most importantly, he hasn t planted any fescue ”Fescue9 That innocent looking grass that thousands of home owners seed across their lawns in fall and spring9 What could be dangerous about grass?I travel throughout the United States attending beagle field trials where they must have rabbits to conduct the trials, says WebsterToxic Substance I find clubs where fescue has been planted having trouble keeping rabbits even when they farm their grounds Clubs that have no fescue and do less farming seem to have rabhits with no restocking ”Webster says, and many rabbit farmers, beagle clubs, and several research projects agree with him. that fescue grass can either destroy the gastrointestinal tract of rabbits or kill them by a poison reaction.The N.C Wildlife Resources Commission has plantedfescue on some Game Lands for many years.I'm not trying to stir up trouble or embarrass anyone,” says Webster But 1 have been a rabbit hunter for almost 40 years and I think I have learned a few things about them 1 sincerely believe that fescue is the single largest killer of rabbits And it doesn't take a lot of fescue to harm a rabbit.There are some impressive studies to support Webster’s claimA study by Edward A. Leiter of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources notes, investigations have been conducted to determine the possible causative agents or substances responsible for the recognized livestock disorders. Results have shown that toxin-producing fungi, alkaloids, nematodes, and physiological disorders within the grass plant have been largely responsible for the livestock problems It is possible that these factors were also responsible for the lack or disappearance of rabbits on beagle clubrunning grounds ”The study goes on to relate the pathological disorders observed in cattle that eat fescue. They include fescue foot” and paralysis of the limbs and tongue, disturbance of the gastrointestinal tract and abortion Ewes (sheep) which ate fescue gave birth to dead or weak lambs that eventuallymmojfliPhoto by Craig HoltTHE BIG MOMENT...THE BEAGLES ARE LOOSED FROM THE PICKUPAnd The Hunters Get Ready For Snowy Actiondied. Pregnant mares showed similar effects.Harmful to CattleIf fescue has such effects on large animals, think what it can do to a small animal like a rabbit, says Webster. I can tell the health of rabbits by looking at their pellets. Small pellets indicate that the intestinal tract has been constricted.The Miami Valley Beagle Club of Lewisburg, Ohio, studied the success and failure of many beagle clubs before deciding what types of grasses to plant on their game lands They planted sweet clover, timothy, white clove, orchard grass, alsike clover, blue grass, lespedeza, alfalfa, wheat and oats and were careful to avoid fescueTwo years after developing their land and enclosing it with a fence to keep out predators, they purchased ten dozen (120) rabbits and released them on the 80-acre farm. The next winter the rabbits on the farm consumed seven tons of corn distributed by the club during a harsh winter.We have now what most beaglers consider the finest trial grounds with the greatest number of rabbits in any area. Our only complaint is that we have too many rabbits and must annually trap and relocate many We attribute the success to proper fertilizing, feeding, mowing and proper seeding (NO FESCUE), says a club representative.Henry Morales of Rockwell, N.C., adds, In order to test Mr Webster’s theory about fescue, a young wild rabbit was caught and kept for three months During this time the rabbit was fed clover, lespedeza. and rabbit pellets with no ill effects. It was then fed fescue only in the early morning Approximately 12 hours later the rabbit was found dead in its pen There is no doubt in my mind that fescue is the cause.”released 26 wild rabbits (22 does and four bucks) inside his 40-acre field trial lands A year later he says, I had to quit plowing in the spring of 1975 because I was plowing up too many young rabbits (The rabbits had nested in his fields). That fall there were too many rabbits to work derbies (field trials) without sight chases.He trapped 12 dozen for a local beagle club, then started three more clubs with rabbits trapped from his lands.‘ Don't let fescue get in your beagle club running grounds,” says Blyther. If you do, you will hate that day. I am thankful for the day (Alton) Webster and I had that long talk and when he tells you that fescue will put you out of rabbits. believe him. He and I both know.In North Carolina Webster has been noticing a decline in the rabbit population in the Piedmont.I have to go east to find good hunting. There is little or no fescue grown in the sandy soil there We still have good hunting if we go where there is no fescue, says Webster.Most game biologists counter by saying that rabbits in the wild have choices to their diet. They contend any animal that eats only fescue will have trouble, but that the diet of wild rabbits is not restricted.One biologist has told me that if a rabbit eats a single blade of this rough grass, it will usually kill him,” says Webster. If this seems hard to believe, try pulling a blade through your fingers. It will cut you like a razer razor.4fl:.wx’*r.Photo by Craig HoltALTON WEBSTER HOLDS BUNNYHe Scooped Alive From BedPerhaps the most striking testimonial comes from Bob Harlan Hall, the District Game Biologist for District 5, Blyther. a South Carolina farmer and rabbit fancier. says. The Wildlife Commission doesn’t send fescue to the.... . . . ,, . „ public for planting, but we do plant it on some Game Lands.Fescue will kill your rabbits graveyard dead, he says. K KThat I know and don’t let anyone tell you it wont.”Too Many Rabbits?Blyther started a rabbit farm on his land in Lee County, S.C., and planted oats, wheat, rye grass and winter hay grazer in strips, putting 500 pounds of 10-5-10 fertilizer to the acre and top-dressed it with 9L in the spring of 1974. HeBiologist UncertainIt makes a good late winter browse, he adds.We have planted fescue for many years and the rabbits seem to get along with it although it could cause some problems. I know at certain periods of the year, it can hurt cattle. I haven’t heard about the toxic substances in fescue, but maybe it could be present in certain parts of the country.I haven’t heard about that problem in North Carolina.Rabbit populations fluctuate occassionally, but I wouldn’t want to jump to any conclusions and blame it all on fescue. Fescue has been a great benefit on the Game Lands.But I am willing to look into any new information.Webster has noted that most game biologists have viewed his ideas very cooly”. They contend that rabbits won’t eat something that is harmful.One female cottontail may have five litters and produce an average of 25 young during one single season, says Webster. A young female can breed at the age of two months and rabbits born early in the season will mate the same season.With rabbit reproduction like that there has to be something happening to them. I can’t believe ttat it is predators and lack of habitat that is destroying rabbits so rapidly. There is still lots of good rabbit habitat in the Piedmont There just aren’t any rabbits,” Webster saysemphaticallyAlton Webster is a zealot and he’ll look you straight in the eye and say so. It’s been my only hobby for 40 years, he says. And he has some impressive facts to support his claim, along with the natural acumen develop by thousands of hunting trips.Anyone who can snatch a live bunny from his bed has got to be considered an expert.
Newspaper Details
Burlington Sunday Times News
Burlington, North Carolina, US
Sun, Mar 05, 1978
Page 27
Full Page
Clipped by
Amy B.
NC, USA 07 Oct 2020
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