Central Otago bunnies die in thousands

Hundreds of hunters took to the hills of Central Otago over the Easter Weekend, reducing the rabbit population by more than 9000.

Alexandra's Easter Bunny Hunt co-convenor Dave Ramsay said 27 teams of between eight and 12 shooters killed 9148 rabbits, 1635 more than last year.

Dunedin team "Half Cocked" bagged the most bunnies, coming home with 1001 rabbits from the Lindis area.

Last year's winners, the "Hair Raising Mutineers" of Southland, were not far behind with 967. In third place were the "Southern Hopper Stoppers", from Gore, who brought in 665 rabbits.

Mr Ramsay said the top three shooters all had blocks of land in the Lindis area.

After the 24-hour shoot, which started at noon on Good Friday, the hunters returned smelly, bloody and hungry.

Dead rabbits were counted at Pioneer Park in Alexandra and a huge crowd gathered to view the carnage. A few people even picked through the corpses to find food for their pet cats.

Mr Ramsay said the event was in its 13th year and had again been free of incidents.

The hunt was first held in 1991 to help to reduce the number of pests in the area.

- NZPA