The annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt bagged only half the rabbits shot last year:
Hunters who converged on Central Otago for the annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt were down on their luck this long weekend.
Together they bagged 7700 bunnies – less than half of last year’s total.
Organisers say a shortage of farm blocks to shoot on meant 20 teams had to be balloted out of the competition.
Many farmers whose land is usually used for the shoot chose to head to the nearby Warbirds Over Wanaka event instead – and less land meant fewer hunters were allowed into the event.
“There’s so much going on in Central Otago this weekend we really struggled to get a lot of people on board,” says convenor Dave Ramsay.
Hunters worked through the night to bag as many rabbits as possible, before bringing their spoils back to base for counting the next morning.
The winning team for 2014 was Ben Cummings and The Wabbit Warriors, who shot 769 rabbits in just 24 hours. . .
Half last year tally isn’t a sign that rabbits are under control, it’s a reflection on fewer shooting blocks available.
Over the mountains in North Otago we’ve been waging war on rabbits all summer and still it’s not unusual to look out the kitchen window and see them nibbling the lawn.
Homepaddock 