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Rabbits aren't particularly safe to prepare for eating in the summer around here. You don't need to wait around all day, as they are more active in the late evening and night. A pellet gun does work. Be aware that rabbits can host ticks and the diseases they carry. The more I'm reading about the variety of diseases and bacteria ticks have, the more concerned I am.
Rabbits and squirrels are just rats with a better public image.
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Originally Posted by harry chickpea
Rabbits aren't particularly safe to prepare for eating in the summer around here. You don't need to wait around all day, as they are more active in the late evening and night. A pellet gun does work. Be aware that rabbits can host ticks and the diseases they carry. The more I'm reading about the variety of diseases and bacteria ticks have, the more concerned I am.
All the more reason to keep them off your lawn and reduce their population.
Trapping rabbits works, but then you have to fill a barrel with water and handle the flea & tick covered trap long enough to tip it in.
Rabbits are herbivores (vegetarians). Their excrement won't hurt your grass. I grew up in a residential suburb where many rabbits lived. They never posed a problem to anyone. I now live in a country area composed of short grass prairie and sagebrush desert environments which intersect on my place. The rabbits stay in the grass which they eat.
I advise enjoying their completely benign company. I feed them carrots every evening. It's always pleasant to watch them. My dog chases them for a few feet, then stops. She knows that she can't catch them.
Life already presents us with enough problems. Don't trouble yourself with one that doesn't exist.
I'm not sure they're exclusively herbivores, unless you include bird seed. Lately I've been seeing rabbits in my fenced backyard every day eating seed that has fallen from the bird feeders (there's no grass there). The weird thing is that the rest of the yard is huge and full of nice green grass!
Any plant matter can be in an herbivore's diet. Seeds are very nutritious and tasty, certainly tastier than grass. Animals are no different from people in that they like things that taste good. I know that some species have individual preferences. I had a dog who preferred mashed potatoes to meat. He did, however, eat meat with great relish. In fact, he really enjoyed good food. He ate slowly and chewed everything well, obviously savoring it.
We have rabbits, and have never seen any evidence that the rabbits are negatively affecting the grass.
Sure, they'll nip tulips in the Spring (which I'm not thrilled about), but the grass itself they do no damage to. (and yes, there are plenty of piles of rabbit pellets in my yard - they just don't cause damage).
I have dogs, but as the dogs are indoor dogs and only go out side a few times a day, the rabbits are aware of that and come in through the fence when the dogs are not around.
Personally I enjoy watching the rabbits, their population is mostly kept in check by hawks and coyotes, those that survive to adulthood put on a good show scampering about in the grass.
Some garden centers sell scent-based products (similar to products meant to keep deer away) meant to discourage rabbits, but my guess is it would get tedious to treat your entire yard border and would have to retreat fairly often.
Personally, unless they're destroying a vegetable garden, I'd just let them be.
(even then I wouldn't kill the rabbits, but perhaps invest in rabbit-proof fencing)
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Rabbits and squirrels are just rats with a better public image.
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He did, however, eat meat with great relish. 
In fact, he really enjoyed good food. He ate slowly and chewed everything well, obviously savoring it. 
