Rabbit overpopulation causing problems for farmers

Back in the ’80s Jefferson County farmers and ranchers made headlines because of their solution to a rabbit overpopulating problem. Ranchers and farmers took actions and beat to death over hundreds of jackrabbits.

Those extreme measures made national headlines, and since then farmers and ranchers have resorted to exterminating the rabbits by other means.

Blake Skidmore, who is a farmer in Jefferson County, said he and his neighbors are losing money on haystacks that the rabbits are eating.

“It’s been a long, hard winter, and early in the winter we had a lot of rabbits flopping around all the haystacks,” Skidmore said.

Skidmore and others have been protecting their haystacks by surround them with straw in order to keep the rabbits from eating them.

“We’ve also had to shoot them. We need to do something to get them away,” Skidmore said.

Idaho Fish and Game Regional Manager Gregg Losinski said rabbits are predatory animals.

“Anything that’s alive in Idaho; you have to have a hunting license as far as a jackrabbit is classified.”

Losinski said the jackrabbit life cycle does fluctuate and is not sure why the numbers have increased this year.

Lonsinski also said Jefferson County hasn’t seen this number of jackrabbits since the 1980s.