Removal of gorse is not just about the playablity of the course but also assists in reducing the rabbit population at Montrose Golf Links. The gorse management plan takes environmental issues into account and helps the board and the green staff make the correct decision in what gorse needs to be removed and when. Overgrown areas of gorse are not just a hazard in terms of visibility to those playing golf. You may remember us talking earlier in the month about the gorse management plan. However it’s also a handy cover for rabbits and their burrows. Gorse gives much of the attractive character to the courses, especially when it’s out in flower as it is just now, and it adds to the challenge of the environment. You will have noticed that gorse and rabbits have a close relationship. ![]() Meanwhile, the cost of fencing the entire area around the two courses has been seen as prohibitively expensive. “I will contact them to see if they are still keen to come down and give it a try.” “I have spoken to a couple of guys during lockdown who have expressed an interest in ferreting when restriction ease,” said Paul. They can’t see their animals when they emerge from a hole and they can easily lose a few ferrets on a hunting spree. The annual number of emergent young per female rabbit in a long-term study ranges from one to ten.įerreting is another way to control the rabbit population but again gorse produces a challenge for the ferret owner. The problem here is that the minute the rabbits hear a gunshot, they head for the cover of the gorse.Īnd rabbits are very good at keeping their numbers up so there will always be plenty around while we continue to shoot. In the 10 months from the end of May 2020, he dispatched 2,163 – a total of 2,606 rabbits in the last year, at a cost of £2 a rabbit. The contractor has shot 443 rabbits in the last six weeks. Moving on to shooting, this is currently operating and of course this means you can count how many rabbits have been removed from the course. “With so many dog walkers on the links, and the possibility of dogs wandering into the gorse and maybe discovering an unopened hole, it’s just not a viable option,” said Paul. However domestic and farm animals have to be kept away from the treated areas for at least two days to prevent any possibility of the tablets being dug up while they are active. It decomposes into a small pile of greyish powder, which has no residual effect on the soil, and doesn’t harm plant life in the treated area. They contain aluminium phosphide, which reacts with normal atmospheric moisture to release phosphine (hydrogen phosphide) gas. Phostoxin gassing tablets are the most effective option. “With so many of the rabbit holes under the gorse, we can’t always cover every hole which allows the gas to escape.” “Gassing rabbits would be the best method,” said Paul, “but this has its difficulties. Traditionally, you can gas them, shoot them, ferret for them or put up fencing. There are four main ways to control rabbit number. “What we need is a concerted push to bring down the number of rabbits and then keep them down.” ![]() “Rabbits have been a problem for a number of years now and we are continuing to do our best to get on top of the issue,” he said. Our temporary head greenkeeper Paul Teviotdale admits it often feels like a high concentration of them choose to live by the Angus coast. It is estimated that there are nearly 10million wild rabbits in Scotland. ![]() So here we attempt to examine the scope of the problem and explain what we’re doing to address it right now, as well as in the longer term. Over 40% of the comments mentioned the word “rabbits” and the damage they do to the courses. The strike escalation adds 5,600 autoworkers to the picket line and “could mean cars that need repairs are stuck at dealerships or body shops ‘for two months, for three months, when it should be there for two or three weeks, because they can’t get a part,’” Pete DeVito, a member of a union that represents workers at car dealerships, told NPR’s Camila Domonoske.In the most recent survey of Montrose season ticket holders, we asked what single improvement they would make for the coming season. These warehouses send parts to dealerships and auto body shops for vehicle repairs. Americans may begin to feel the effects of the strikes: The UAW expanded its strike to 38 GM and Stellantis parts warehouses on Friday.Biden and Trump will be in Michigan: “Biden’s Michigan visit - which labor experts say is probably the first time a sitting president has visited a strike in at least 100 years - will come a day before his expected rival in the 2024 presidential race, Trump, plans to deliver his own speech to hundreds of union members in Michigan,” our colleagues Lauren Kaori Gurley, Jeanne Whalen, Erica Werner and Wali Khan report.
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