Hundreds of hunters have slaughtered thousands of rabbits in New Zealand as part of an annual 24-hour Easter shooting bonanza to curb the introduced species.
While most people associate the long weekend with chocolate overload and fluffy bunnies, for a rugged group of hunters in the district of Central Otago it means 10,000 fewer pests.
The great Easter bunny hunt has been running for 25 years and draws seasoned hunters from across the South Island, who often hunt through the night, taking turns to shoot, drive and nap.
This year 27 teams, of 12 hunters each, took part – with names such as “happy hoppers” and “anti-pestos”.
Ferrets – which are also a major pest in New Zealand – are also shot on the bunny hunt, and count in the final tally.
“It was pretty bad this year, much worse than last year, it seems like the rabbits are taking over again,” said Alexandra Lions Club president Eugene Ferreira, who organises the event.
“The total was 10,000 this year. Conditions were excellent and there was no rain. The winning team, Down South, shot 889 rabbits, not a bad effort.”
The most bunnies ever shot during the Easter bunny hunt was 23,000.
The bunny hunt started at 9am on Good Friday, and hunters spread out across the Central Otago district – from Alexandra to as far as the tourist hotspot of Queenstown 90km away.
Shooting rabbits is best at dawn, dusk and night (using a spotlight, usually mounted on a vehicle) and teams had to reassemble in Alexandra by noon on Saturday for the final count.
Most of the rabbits will be used as fertiliser, some would be claimed as dog food, and a few keen foodies will take the rabbits home to cook and eat, though this has become less common every year.
Over the years animal activists have appeared at the event to stage protests but usually backed down after seeing the devastation the introduced species caused to the land, said Ferreira.
“The bunnies cause massive land erosion on the farms around here, and hunting is the most effective and efficient way of controlling it,” said Ferreira.
“A lot of people think of bunnies as a nice, cute pets, but for farmers they are an absolute menace. And for people kicking up a fuss in Auckland or Wellington, it’s not till they get here and see how scarred the land has become that they understand why we do it. What we are doing is better than spraying poison which kills all wildlife.”
Rabbits were introduced to New Zealand in the 1830s by settlers. Plagues of rabbits have ruined rich agricultural land in parts of New Zealand – particularly in the mid and lower South Island.
It is estimated that the cost of controlling the pest and productivity losses run into tens of millions of dollars.