Rabbit Plague on The Aran Islands, Co.Galway, Ireland 1985
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 05. 2021
- A rapidly growing population of rabbits on Inis Mór has become a major headache for the 900 islanders.
On Inis Mór one of the Aran Islands a plague of rabbits is destroying the island.
The islanders explain that the rabbits are burrowing fields and eating the grass. Island residents, Bridget Harnon and Colie Harnon describe the damage being caused by the rabbits burrowing. The damage has extended to the island’s airstrip which provides essential access to the mainland.
The Aran Islands is one of the locations where rabbits have survived the scurge of myxomatosis
Reliable estimates say there may be somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000... These island rabbits have learned all of the tricks of survival.
For island farmers, the rabbits have become an absolute menace. People are having to sell their livestock because there is no grass to feed them and some are shooting, poisoning or even gassing the rabbits.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 April 1985. The reporter is Jim Fahy. - Zábava
The real life "I shot JR" guy. My gosh. Absolute class.
Do you think he was the inspiration. There is something unsaid about Tom, that you know he has seen and done stuff
@@anthonyhassett Nah, he just didn't want to fill out the forms ! 🤣
He's missing the monobrow tho...but I bet he knows which button sucks it in and which shoots it out 😂
I clicked on this coz I thought it was Fr. Ted
@@FirstnameLastname-vo1jb it's even funnier than father Ted because it was the inspiration for the episode.
Go to sleep, your Grace.
It's just a bad dream.
😂😂😂 Brilliant!!
So Len, how's the son? Don't call me len ye little pup ye 😅😅😅
"You need something more drastic". Call in a few airstrikes is probably what he was thinking.
Haha that was what struck me too 🤣
From the Irish Sir force... low flying aircraft and the pilot tossing stones overboard to get Bugs and co
Haha like Willem Dafoes scene from Platoon
A dose of mixi is what he was thinking
@@DubSun33 No it not, can't you see this guy is the inspiration for Tom "I shot JR" the islands resident psycho?
For anyone wondering, I looked around a bit and it seems they did resort to myxomatosis in the end.
Thanks
You sound like Paul Williams from the Sunday World 🤣🤣
Are there any rabbits on the islands these days?
@@cullen3624 there are quite a few still, but much less numerous and spread out. Myxomatosis was a scummy, scummy move that a lot of islanders regret
@@cullen3624 I was there in 2001 and didn't notice any
1:54
"Even with the machine gun, you still wouldn't clear the place of rabbits... You need something more drastic... Gas didn't work, guns don't work, dogs don't work... I dunno"
This man needs back up! Oh my God... they're taking over the airstrip!
War of the Rabbits.
cats
@@FAMEROB it's not common for cats to feast on rabbits they are to big
@@neogeo1670 lynx cat :)
@@FAMEROB that would be much better
*FLAMETHROWERS*
That way, you can easily clear out a field, it empties all their holes, *AND* you get a free cooked meal after.
So is that where the got the idea for the rabbit infestation in Craggy Island in Father Ted?
My thoughts exactly
Their will no kicking of bishops, it's a mortal sin😁
@@donallmccrudden4812 You need to print that 10" x 8", not 10' x 8'.
@@dellhell8842 feck😬🥵😁
There is a Rabbit Island in Japan, guess what is on it and no natural predators.
Shooting isn't the answer ........shoots again 😁😁
It might not be the answer, but it sure is cathartic
it's was wonderfully Irish that moment.
Not a lot else for a fella to do.
Nuke the rabbits
That's hilarious
I héard the rabbits are as big as the cows now.
The rabbits are small, but the cows are far away.
@@betterdayscoming6955 😂 very funny you two hahahaha
I hear you're a rabbit now Father?
Rofl !!!!!!!!!!
Normal News reporters : stand there where we can see you.
Irish reporters : stand behind that pillar or wall.
Irish reporters, stand in front of the guy with the rifle.
Theres a company in England called Antipesto. Owners name is Wallace & his best friend Gromit. They'll sort it with Bunnyvac 6000. Fantastic machine.
Ok but we are just going to try another mass first.
Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews must’ve seen this at the time. It’s pure Tom on Craggy Island. “Do ya see that? Would ya believe my own dog did that to me!”
I was in an argument 🤣🤣
Doesn't it look like a face? 😂😂
Me watching this year's later, trying to think up a solution....
I'm a middle-aged country Australian. That's not a rabbit plague. I've seen the ground writhe like a moving carpet for hundreds of kilometers in every direction. Not once but twice. Also lived through locust plagues and currently a mouse plague which is the worst plague Ive ever experienced.
Theres a mouse plague where you are in Oz at the moment?
@@doptimist There has been for three months. Just winding down though moving into new areas.
I saw pics of the mouse plague on the internet. Absolutely awful, creepy, just horrendous ! And they also mentioned that a snake plague usually follows a mouse plague. HELP!
"There aren't any rabbits here, are there Crilley"?
🐇 🐇 🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇
@@kobrien4121 🐰🐇🐰🐇🐰🐇🐰🐇🐰🐇🐰
Bishop Brennan could give a dig out he hates rabbits..aka Father Ted 🤣
Back in the happy times when this was the biggest issue facing the country
My God people's memories are poor. The biggest issue in Ireland in 1985 wasn't bloody rabbits, it was unemployment which reached an all time high of 17.3% in December 1985. Obviously those with a job back then were alright Jack.
tradingeconomics.com/ireland/unemployment-rate
I came out of college in 1984 and only got a job because I was one of the few with a first class degree. Many of my fellow graduates had to emigrate as did many other young people. My now wife looked for a summer job in every retail and hospitality outlet in Galway. Got nothing. Went to her aunt in New York for a job. A terrible time for anyone looking for work then.
Infestation of foreigners these days, I hear the natives are in serious danger with invasive species.
@@dellhell8842 calm down Jack
@@yes8515 I'm totally chill. Just bemused by misplaced nostalgia.
@@dellhell8842 I wasnt being serious. I know the economic situation was bad. My dad was part of the wave of emigration in the early 90s and my grandma (on my mother's side) in the 30s. But some people just had a different experience, that's why they stayed.
"Father.........I´ve killed a man."
"Not now Tom!"
Dosnt it look like a face lol
"I''ll take care of them for ye Father."
Stoats, a boat load of hungry stoats! Great videos. Keep 'em coming.
Great idea.
@@freespeechisneverwrong9351 Yes! How did none of them come up with that? Does no one have ferrets on that island?
Then what do we do with the stoats?!
@@MrLONGJOHN11 You breed and train an army of baboons to eliminate them
@@GunnerRDS The problem with bio-control is that any rabbit predator is likely to also decimate ground-nesting birds which are common on islands.
I remember Inismore and Dun Aengus back in 2004. Me and my girlfriend at the time took a carriage from the dock to the fort. The driver said that the islanders speak Irish Gaelic to each other.. “and English to their dogs and tourists.” Lol. Delightful fella.
Strangely enough. They will not speak to us who have " school Irish " .We ask for something in Irish and they will answer in English. It's a bit disrespectful in my opinion.
@@conlaiarla yeah but you idolize fascists and religious crusaders. Ypu deserve no respect. Ní tada ach píosa beag salacher thú
@@willywonka7812 You are a clown and no doubt an embarrassment to your family .Instead of minding your own business you attempt to appear " woke " to bolster your weak minded political leanings .The best you could summon for a username was a Disney movie from your childhood which like you cling to like a security blanket. Smh ...
@@conlaiarla inis dom céard é woke, má sé do thoil é
You seem hugely offended. Did i strike a nerve?
Die Hard came out one year later.
The inspiration obviously came from somewhere.. 1:43 🎥🍿
God, it's like a big Rabbit rock festival!
Careful around those rabbits, didn't you hear about the "quest for the Holy Grail"? 8D
Some lettuce on a flat stone mixed with pepper is a great way of getting rid of them , they sneeeze from the pepper and kill themselves by bursting their heads off the stone
“Human beings say, "It never rains but it pours." This is not very apt, for it frequently does rain without pouring. The rabbits' proverb is better expressed. They say, "One cloud feels lonely": and indeed it is true that the sky will soon be overcast.” - from Watership Down by Richard Adams
_Would you believe me own dog did that to me?_
They've been A FAIR PROBLEM in Australia. They say here that 3 rabbits eat as much as 1 sheep. Sheep HAVE STARVED because of rabbits here. Rabbits can get lower to the grass and bite off better. Because MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW but at the front sheep ONLY have BOTTOM teeth. The top is like a hard gum. Further back for chewing they have top teeth.
Jesus I thought the rabbit episode in Fr Ted was a big joke....apparently not
If you did a little research ALL the fr ted episodes have some basis in truth to them. The bishop gathering the child, the gambling priest, the Athlone wedding, hiding Nazis in plain sight in Ireland.
In my younger days we used to catch then with our dogs a hound and a couple of corr dogs, we used to catch about 40 a night. God be with the days.
Ah god be with the days 🤣🤣🤣
We used to catch them with pepper and a big rock
@@yourenotwrong3511 grass seems to be all the rage now, even the rabbits are dabbling these days ✌
The cows are down 50% because of the rabbits 🤣🤣
@@ripvanwinkle1819 The rabbits just want their lebensraum.
I've had to rid of all my cattle, except for the ones behind me.
😂😂😂😂
It should be no problem to the Islanders. Don't they take in the roads at night?
1.47 Tom from Father Ted 🤣🤣 Larry Duff..give him ring on his mobile he's always saying nobody rings him 🤣🤣🤣
Plagued by a different breed now
Which one is Sampras ?
Obviously he is the one playing Tennis on the grass!
For the life of me, I can't understand why this 4:3 video was forced into widescreen.
Father Jack " Hairy Japanese...." 😂
I wonder if they have the same problem these days or was it ever sorted out?
Bishop Brennan watched this and fainted..
Never been to Inishmore. Was on Inisheer during the summer of 1997. I didn't see any rabbits then.
That was 12 years later..
Rabbits are a feast and famine critter. Very cyclical in population and disease. In america I have seen in the forest no rabbits all year, and the next they are everywhere....with no change in people.
Growing up in Galway there where rabbits everywhere.the first time I meet my father in law he had a stack of them over his shoulder after shooting then in his garden.. not a sniff of one of them these days around his place ..I was told the mink killed alot of them but I can't be sure
I love Inisheer. Except for the midges. Did you go to the Pub in the Hotel? It's way better than the tiny pubs where there was no music. At the Hotel Pub there were many musicians and locals singing rousing Irish Rebel Songs! I think the tourists had not discovered it yet.
When I said take care of them I meant in a Julie andrews way.
Surely there is a cottage industry there. Fresh wild Aran rabbit.. Succulent.
Myxomatosis put an end to our rabbit eating.
@@mactoirdhealbhaigh4873 Apart from the eyes, is there any other way to tell they have it?
@@stewartdahamman feed it to pigs
@@stewartdahamman They just look spaced out, confused, not being a proper flight animal. You could literally walk up and snap its neck, which is the kind thing. Goat and rabbit were the most widely eaten meats in Ireland a hundred years ago, now nobody really eats either.
@@mactoirdhealbhaigh4873 Ye. We want a McDonalds rabbit burger. MacDónal Coinín
Me wondering why they are not harvesting an overly abundant resource and… processing it?
A highly nutritious meat, lean, good for many things. The furs are definitely blanket worthy. 🤷♂️
introduce 1,000 ferrets, falcons, sea eagles and Martins
Or a common hunting dog that likes to play fetch
"Put them in the vice Father"
Myxomatosis works, but it's hideous. Hideous but effective.
The real question is, did Len find the rabbits?
‘War against rabbits’. Sums it up
Farmers don’t want rabbits but they also don’t want the foxes that would normally keep the population of rabbits down.
Foxes are pretty useless, they only can catch a few and mostly only the young and old and sick ones
the solution according the government is to import more rabbits to dig burrows for the rabbits with no burrows ,
Geez, sounds like target practice time for the military cadets to me...
What about getting some cats for their farms, maybe some "Scottish Highlander" cats?
It is like the rise of the ocean separated these species a long time ago...
You could fence in their burrows channeling them into some type of containment as you dig up their burrows and use minks to flush them out... water could work too..
Hence the expression "breeding like rabbits!"
That one Rabbit looked like the Actor Harvey Keitel
Does anyone know what rifle the guy was firing between 1:35 and 2:35 of the clip?
Semi automatic and tube fed sound like 22cal.
It's the mid 80s so I'm thinking marlin model 60 or 62 can't recall exactly which
You boring farts
@@TheBenzer9 lol I think it’s kinda cool
Looks like a break barrel air rifle, cheap and cheerful. Don't you know its a job for the Irish army at this stage?
2:32 This reminds me of Vietnam.
You were in Vietnam? I never knew that!
@@anthonyhassett No, it's the films you know !
Is there any rabbits left on the Aran Islands now.?
Ferrets and nets are very effective reducing the numbers of rabbits,id love to know ,how they got on in the end and what the numbers are like now,did they introduce myxi.?
They paid them to move..same trick with the travellers
I thought this was a viper video at the start there
Fella would do a handy job in Crossmaglen
Couple of weeks at them with the ferrets make a difference
Did Len find the Rabbits Ted?
I wonder if the illiterates here have figured out the reference to Len is from John Steinbeck's famous novel "Of Mice and Men."
Even with machine gun didn't work. Gas didn't work.
These bunnies are deadly
Father?
I killed a man....
Not now Tom - I'm going on the telly
How about weasels/stoats etc? i.e. a really efficient small to medium predator, or range of predators. A combination of small to medium sized land based predators along with predatory birds. You could even pilot a lynx reintroduction?
Small predators would destroy the population of ground-nesting birds. Now you have two problems.
@@Ubu987 ah, bin that idea then. That would be no good. To be fair, the introduction of any non-native species is always a huge risk. The only other thing I can think of is to build a proper runway for the planes to land on. If it had decent concrete foundations that could solve one small element of the problem, but it would be expensive. As for the rest of the problem, small and medium sized predators is all I can think of so far. It's either that or myxomatosis, and I can see why no-one would want that.
@@blue_tree_meadow Another commenter stated that myxomatosis was eventually used.
@@Ubu987 yeah, I saw that after I'd replied. Sad though.
What happened to the rabbits since 1985 ???
New York.. London..Brisbane
Anyone know if they ever sorted out the rabbit problem
Tribunal
Contraception
A concrete runway
You know people are desperate when they say "Unless maybe the government comes up with some kind of solution".
We're from the government. We're here to help. This infestation of rats will starve out the rabbits. Problem solved!
We went to Inishmore in 1994. I don't recall seeing many rabbits, but I do remember a rodent coming out of the lovely dry stone wall and eating into our coolbox outside the tent. After the first night, with a big hole in our loaf of bread (and limited funds) I convinced myself it was just mice and used the rest of the loaf. Second night, I saw the silhouette of a huge rat on the wall after dark!
I think I heard it say "Where's me feckin' bread gone?"
😂😂
Maybe a pine martin? Seen one other day in north, thought it was a rat till I seen closer, very rare in Ireland and amazing animal, also love raiding cooler boxes
@@jackietreehorn5561 I would love to think it was a pine marten, (yet to seen one) but Inishmore, fantastic as it is for wild flowers, doesn't have much tree cover and the creature I saw on the wall was definitely a large rat!
Just put contraceptive in a feed for them like they do for pigeons in some countries.
That's probably the best idea so far ,just spray the grass w it for a few life cycles.
.22lr, subsonics, suppressor, nightscope, that'll put a dent in em.
There would be hordes of air rifle shooting enthusiasts in the English cities who would love a chance at them. Give them some cheap accommodation for a fortnight or the freedom to tent up in a farmers field and they would soon rid you of them. No shortage of takers.
And they get a good chance of breathing in the pure Aran air which would do wonders for their health.
@@hughneek12 Airguns aren't allowed under Irish 'firearms' legislation, nor are 17HMR rifles. •22lr rimfire rifles and top-break shotguns, single or double barrel (no mags or clips) are your only options, other than catapults and the like. And it is by no means a given that your application would be approved. Your best chance is probably if you are a farmer who moonlights as a solicitor(so you'll know how to fill out the forms!), although vermin control and 'sport', which would cover hunting *and* target shooting, are both accepted reasons for wanting a firearm. Also, you need to be 'known' to a 'Guard' or 'Garda', ie, cop. And that's 'known' in the "Ah, how're we now, Michael?" "Ah, sure, grand, Guard, pullin' the Divil by the tail. How's yourself? These rabbits are a scourge, aren't they..." sort of way. *NOT* 'known' in the "I'm going to bury you Mangan! Sure your own Old Lady has you there and you're all over the CCTV, so you want to do yourself a favour and start talking! 'Cos we're into Friday now, I'll have you up in Castlerea at 'half-five', when the doctor's gone home for the weekend and no-one will see you til Monday, sure it'll be Tuesday or Wednesday before *you're* going to see a drop of the ould met'-a-done..!" - kind of way. So yeah, 'literary' >ahem< flourishes apart, 'townies', to a degree, and tourists most definitely are going to be at a disadvantage here.
One does of course hear stories of cheap'n'nasty airguns - toys, really, but the sort of toy that is liable to take somebody's eye out - and also, illegal as all hell - turning up on market stalls and under the counter in backstreet knick-knack shops, along with replica firearms, also illegal and singularly unlikely to worry rabbits, and illegal fireworks. Along with a whole plethora of >ahem!< 'tobacco' paraphernalia. However, I will say no more on this aspect of the subject of airguns as I wish to remain in the realm of the legal and lawful. Of course if, while one is here, one wishes to purchase a lava lamp, or a dog toy or perhaps a mirror for one's dressing table...
Father Ted springs to mind, funny that :)
Any update on this problem??
Abortion
Concrete runway
The locals decided to expand the burrows and live in them
So are we all rabbit killer's now father Ted.
I wonder if they got it under control?
My dad is the guy with the gun, no rabbits are still there, just diseased with mixamitosis
Well what did they do to solve the problem ?
Abortion
Myxo
Truley love my Irish brothers.
Nah I don't but muslims all over the world love the Irish people because we can relate to so many ways of struggle and hardship.
Are they still there
Abortion
Everything in Father Ted was real! Singing priests, bunnies all over the place, embezzlement...
Why do you think RTE refused to make it? Every episode has an element of a true story in it.
"That money was just resting in my account"....
Why is the algo suggesting 1985 irish rabbit plague to me? You okay, algo?
Thought it was a father Ted video for a sec when I saw the title..
Those cows are really small.
Is there still rabbits on this island
I don't KNOW WHY they were apprehensive to use mixo.... whinging ABOUT THE SMELL??? Do they want the problem fixed or not? I WILL SAY that mixo isn't completely effective but DOES SOMETHING and CONTINUES to morph. We still get it here in Australia. More than 50 years after it was first released.
Because mixo is bad stuff look il what it will do to a rabbit it's inhumane
Have you seen a rabbits knob after myxo?
36 years ago any rabbits on the island today
Only in the Chinese take aways..
Multiple by 6 divide by 4 and look out the window
Foxes would work because unlike stoats you can hunt them back down if needs be.
Great food source. Yummy. That was the solution.
What was the solution in the end? What was the Final Solution to the rabbit infestation problem of the Aran Islands in the 1980's ?
Chemical warfare. Myxomatosis, the kind of thing monsters do to nature
Abortion and the Spring my sister has one up her college degree she's now a barrister 👍
A concrete runway
@@willywonka7812 myxomatosis isnt a chemical its a virus. Its perfectly natural and organic too. Created by mother nature
When you said 'get rid of the Rabbits' I thought you meant that in an Al Pacino way not in a Julie Andrews way...
"-'Take care' of the rabbits..."
Where are all the trees?
There aren't any. I've been to 2 of the 3 islands. They are in the Galway Bay.
Too windy
Cats are particularly partial to baby rabbits (which are called kittens by the way), whether that be for eating, or for a bit of gratuitous killing.
I wonder what would happen if they had introduced some foxes and done a serious bit of ferreting
Inbreeding
@@TheBenzer9 by whom?
Introduction of any animal especially predators is always a bad idea. See NZ and Australia for examples.
0:50 - So you're saying "All the cattle had to be taken off" ?
No...they just take the roads in..store them on the other side of the island
@@TheBenzer9 Down with that sort of thing! 😠
@@Xerrand it's cavier your grace lol you grow lettuce in a cage indoors crilly lol
@@TheBenzer9 🤣🤣🤣
Sure someone was bound to just bring across the mixy after a while
Dags might not work, but have you tried dogs?
What happened to the predators like foxes and eagles ? They help keep things in balance.
No foxes on the island. Eagles went over a century ago. Rabbits introduced.
There's never been predators on the island. Foxes or any other predatory animal would destroy the wild ground nesting bird population
Should of let lads on the land with Ferrets and lurches long time before it got to that stage
Careful now.
Why not farm rabbits?
A Farmer near me had Paddocks and horses and loads of Rabbits. He invited an Air Rifle club to come and shoot on his land. In no time the numbers had dropped and the guys were tacking them home to eat and a local Butcher was buying all the head shot ones for 50p each. they taste like chicken. Rabbits kept England going in WW11. School kids would hunt rabbits for food.
It's not that simple..the effect on people is terrible..broken marriages broken homes destroyed lives.. please be serious
@@TheBenzer9 What the hell. I was serious. I have been doing Virmin control for over 40 years. I get a lot of jobs on killing Rats on pig farms mostly i shoot them I have shot as many as 200 in one night with night vision. A lot of farmers dont like you to use Poison I case the pigs or Dogs get at it. Rabbits I shoot or i have blocked a load of rabbit holes up then feed a pipe from an old two stroke strimmer engine over oiled the exhaust smoke kills them. Have a look some Australias 160 year battle with rabbits. Has for Rabbits feeding the UK in WW2 is well Documentted. Stephen I take offence at your comments i was just passing on 40 years of pest control experience. And being Serious. Asshole.
I wonder what did they do to solve it
the island sunk 😂
@@legin3753 no it's still there
@@ballygeale1 no it isnt
@@legin3753 they temporarily sunk the island to drown the wabbits then re-floated it.
I was there when the island re-surfaced. I was in a boat with me grandad reeling in the floating rabbit corpses with fishing nets when all of a sudden we struck a tree.