Rabbits have scored a rare victory in their age-old battle with farmers, leading to fears of a surge in numbers.
For more than 60 years the Government has intervened in disputes to order farmers to kill rabbits if their neighbours’ crops are threatened, but Natural England decided last week to pull out of the regime.
The decision has enraged landowners, who have accused the Government of irresponsibility and “bunny hugging”.
Farmers believe that the threat posed by rabbits to the food supply is as great now as in the postwar years, and that recent warm winters have triggered an explosion in rabbit numbers. Rabbits are partial to wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, carrots, turnips, swedes, onions, cabbage and broccoli.
In commercial agriculture, all landowners have a