How to catch Rabbits with a piece of string

The Rabbit snare

Learning how to catch rabbits with a piece of string is one of the few things in bushcraft that you shouldn’t do unless you have to because they can cause a great deal of suffering to the rabbit before it dies. In the past, they have mostly been used when the rabbit populations in an area were too high to shoot, but are generally avoided if possible because they can accidentally kill other wild animals.

(Rabbits can be found across all of Europe and the British Isles, and you do not need a license to hunt them, but you do need permission to use traps)

The rabbit snare takes nothing more than a piece of string to make, but a flexible type of wire is much better because they can’t chew through them. Even something as simple as a bootlace would do the trick, but this type of trap should only be used in a survival situation and isn’t an ethical way to catch rabbits.

How does a rabbit snare work?

The string is tied into a simple slipknot at one end, with the other end being tied to a sturdy anchor that the rabbit won’t be able to pull out the ground when it’s struggling. The opening of the snare is then placed over the opening of either a rabbit hole or a path through a fence or hedge that rabbits pass through.

(The snare in this picture has been made using metal wire which is why there are lower supports to keep it in place. String doesn’t have this problem but can be chewed through)

When the rabbit passes through the snare, it tightens around its neck and the rabbit is strangled to death. Apart from this not being a good way to kill a rabbit, there is also a lot that can go wrong, such as the rabbit getting its leg caught or being eaten by another wild animal while it’s trapped.

If you have to use a snare trap, then make sure you put it in the right place.

Avoid placing the snare in open ground such as in the middle of a field, even if you can see a clear path that a rabbit takes. They are very paranoid creatures and will immediately become suspicious of anything that looks different from the last time they came out of their burrows. The best place is through the smallest hole that you can find that looks “used”, which means there will be freshly flattened down grass and any sticks would have been cleared away.

(A good example of where “not” to put a snare, you can see the leaves that have collected in the entrance which shows it hasn’t been used for at least a few days)

When you place the snare it’s important to not make the loop big enough for a rabbit to simply pass through. They are very agile and have no problem quickly slipping through small gaps, so a large noose might not do anything. The bottom of the string should preferably be between 1 and 2 inches off the ground so it can catch the legs of the animal and be pulled up to its neck as it moves forward.

The length of the string between the loop and the anchor shouldn’t be longer than 12 inches and should be disguised as much as possible. Try to use a brown or green string and cover the part near the ground with pieces of grass so it isn’t as obvious, because if anything looks too suspicious to the rabbit then it will likely try to find another route or proceed with enough caution to make the trap ineffective.

(An example of a well-used rabbit path. You can see how to route is so well used that the ground has been trodden bare)

When to set and check your rabbit snares

Rabbits are usually the most active during the night but do like to come out and sunbathe on hot days. Snares are best left overnight or at least for several hours, depending on your situation. They aren’t something that will provide meat as soon as you see some rabbits like hunting will, and when scared into their burrows it can take hours before they come out again.

Set your snares just before dusk and check them again shortly after dawn. Rabbit snares aren’t something to rely on and even a well-made and placed snare can still be detected and avoided, and there’s also no guarantee that a well-used rabbit path will be used every single night.

When you check your snare be prepared for any of the rabbits caught to still be alive. Less than half the time you catch one in a snare it won’t have strangled itself to death trying to escape. They often get a leg through the loop and just end up hurting themselves for several hours until you come back. You will need a way to kill them upon collection which could either be using an air rifle or just breaking their necks.

Please do not use this type of trap unless you need to, and due to the suffering that the Rabbits can experience it should only be reserved for survival situations.