Pest hunt raises money for hospital

Andrew Hopley gave a speech and helped present the prizes at the award ceremony. Photo / Supplied.

You will see fewer hares and other pests in Banks Peninsula after a recent vermin hunt and fundraiser.

A 48 hour hunting competition called The 2017 Vermin Shoot was hosted to help raise money for the Akaroa Health Hub rebuild.

The competition raised $341 and helped cull the growing vermin population by 544 animals - without the use of poisons.

On the list of targets were feral cats, rabbits, hares, geese and possums. The animals were worth a certain amount of points.

It was the second year the event was held, 54 people participated in 12 teams.

In total seven feral cats, six geese, 35 rabbits, 178 possums and 318 hares were killed.

Awards were presented for a series of different categories. The team that won shot 111 hares, 58 possums, three geese and eight rabbits.

The awards ceremony was hosted at the Duvauchelle Hotel with prizes and support supplied by Goodnature, Ridgeline, Akaroa Dolphins, L' hotel, Duvauchelle Hotel and NZ OUTDOOR hunting magazine.

One of the organisers, Andrew Hopley, said hosting the award ceremony at the hotel was a good way to engage the community and get people talking about next year's event.