JACKSON - Mississippi's rabbit hunting season begins October 13, 2012 and closes February 28, 2013.  The bag limit is 8 rabbits per day.  Rabbit hunting is a fun and exciting way to spend time with family and friends and is great way to introduce new people to hunting.  Areas with an ample mixture of grasses, legumes and other broadleaf plants, and low brushy cover typically produce the greatest numbers of rabbits.  "We expect rabbit populations to be mostly abundant where they have good habitat," said Rick Hamrick, MDWFP Small Game Biologist.  "In many areas with suitable habitat, numbers of rabbits observed seem to be up from previous years.  Last winter was mild, and vegetation growing conditions this summer have been mostly favorable.  We believe those factors contributed to greater survival and reproduction this year."