Hunting has been the most important factor in keeping down the numbers
of rabbits in America. In some parts of the country the animals have
been so reduced in numbers by shooting that sportsmen have invoked
legislation to prevent their extermination. Shooting is undoubtedly the
best method for hunting this animal. Ferreting is often impracticable,
since our native rabbits do not habitually burrow; besides, the use of
ferrets is forbidden by law in many States that protect the rabbit.
Coursing with greyhounds is popular in the West, where the swifter jack
rabbits are abundant. Cottontails are often chased with foxhounds, but
the beagle is rapidly taking precedence as a favorite for hunting these
animals, the gun being used to secure the game.
Where the country is sufficiently open for the purpose, the organized
hunt, in which everyone who owns a gun is supposed to take part, is a
good means of reducing the number of rabbits. These organized hunts are
popular in the West, where they are also varied, in the case of jack
rabbits, by what is known as the "rabbit drive." A large territory is
surrounded by men and the animals are driven into a corral built of wire
netting. While a few cottontails are sometimes included in the catch,
these usually find refuge in open burrows or under cover of rocks or
brush, so that this method is hardly applicable to them.