Easter Bunny Shoot

I didn't think I'd ever take part in the Central Otago Easter Bunny Shoot but I found myself there this year.

Rabbits have long been a pest across the farms, high country stations and landscape of Central Otago. Each year the Lions Club finds run holders and farmers keen to have rabbit numbers on their farms and stations curtailed, and organises teams of (mostly) blokes keen to shoot the rabbits.

The keen are on the go for 24+ hours. Some years 30+ teams have killed around 22,000 rabbits. Numbers were down this year. Central (or parts of it) are unusually green and the calicivirus has gone through and reduced numbers.

I wasn't on the go for 24 hours and really I'm not all that keen on guns. But I do understand rabbits are a huge pest eating stock feed and whatever else grows on this bony landscape and causing erosion as they strip the soil of vegetation.

I did my bit, I took photos ;-)

I like how this captures each of the guys on my truck reacting (or not reacting) to sound of nearby gunshots from another truck of mates.

Large is better

We were sent to a farm about an hour south of Alexander. I think we were closer to Gore than Alex! But as luck would have it the Clutha River just happened to flow through this farm. The fisher/hunter and I disappeared for an evening fish and caught a Rainbow Trout each.

Trout duly returned to live and breed another day, we spotted rabbits for a while before retiring to the luxury of a 2 man tent. With my earplugs, unlike 388 rabbits, I spent a peaceful night oblivious to gun shot.