A 26-year-old man ended up in hospital on Saturday 30 March after an attempt to make his own hot cross bunnies turned sour and resulted in a gunshot wound to his own hand and the removal of two fingers.
The man had been attending the Great Easter Bunny Hunt in Central Otago, trying to intercept the furry bastards before they could bring chocolatey joy to children nationwide. While Critic had initially assumed him to be the victim of a co-ordinated assault by a vicious gang of angry leporids, it emerged that he had merely lost his footing, after which the gun discharged at his hand.
The self-inflicted wound was a shock to event organiser Dave Ramsay, who said that it was the first incident in the 23-year history of the event. With over 400 participants this year, Ramsay said it was just a freak accident. “This was just one out of a box. They already have a pretty thorough safety briefing from Police before they leave,” Ramsay told TV3.
While the event may seem like an entertaining way to cull rabbits off the land, Hans Kriek, executive director of animal protection group SAFE, told Investigate magazine that they “had concerns that inexperienced hunters would cause a lot of suffering for the animals.”
“If they have to be controlled for whatever reason, that needs to be done by professional people in the most humane way possible, and the Easter bunny hunt is neither,” added Kriek.
The hunt resulted in the culling of 18,000 animals. The total number of body parts and whiskey bottles that were expended remains unconfirmed.
Rabbits take revenge
