Easter bunny bag points to increase

Rabbit numbers are on the rise in Central Otago and farmers have been advised to be vigilant about control.

This year's Great Easter Bunny Hunt resulted in a bag of 20,201 rabbits - nearly double last year's total. There were 10 more teams entered this year, but the 500 hunters still averaged more rabbits per head.

Jeff Donaldson, manager of the Otago Regional Council-owned Regional Services, believed the rabbits had had a couple of good breeding seasons.

He urged farmers to continue to shoot and use other pest-destruction strategies. He said the RHD virus would hit about 50 per cent of rabbits regardless of how breeding seasons affected population.

- NZPA