This article was on xtra this morning. It does make me hope that in this world with 1 billion people classed as starving that those 3000 rabbit lives are getting turned into something useful and not just being wasted. For those of us with pet rabbits in our backyard it is something extra to think about. I bet our rabbits are feeling happy that they live with us! On that note our oldest rabbit Lotus has just turned 10 - not bad going for a domestic rabbit with a life expectancy of 5 -6 years!
The photo to the left is one of Haylee and Pierre Rabbit from 2003.

I know rabbits are a terrible problem in Southland, we have seen it first hand when down that way a few years back photographing Kingsmill's vineyard in Bannockburn (Central Otago). Hopefully the pet food producers would see this as an opportunity for free product.

Click on the read more link to read the article.

"A Wanaka rabbit hunt bagged nearly 3000 rabbits over the weekend.

About 60 people, shooting in 13 teams, took part in the inaugural Bunny Bust Up, described by organiser Sean Colbourne as "a bit of family fun".

Gus Spence, a member of the five-person Mid Run Marauders, won the competition's first prize, with the team shooting 1050 rabbits on Lake McKay Station, near Luggate, the Southland Times reported.

Station rabbiter Ryan Cameron said the team had neither "magic bullet", nor much sleep during the weekend.

"There is no one thing; you have to keep chopping and changing between shooting, trapping, poison. They just get too smart."

A team of 11 to 15 year-old shooters bagged 251 bunnies, including one of the competition's only black rabbits, from their shooting around Maungawera."