23,000 rabbits killed in New Zealand Easter celebrations

Wellington, April 26: How cruel can Easter celebrations be? Well, given the derelicts that most of us have turned into, the imaginations can run wild and some of these like-minded people turned up in New Zealand to make the 2011 Easter celebrations one of the bloodiest ever.

In an atrocious event called as the 'annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt', nearly 23,000 rabbits were hunted down in the southern region of New Zealand's South Island. According to the local newspaper Otago Daily Times, thousands of people gathered to watch the rabbits being indiscriminately killed by 47 teams of brutal hunters over a period of 24 hours.

While animal rights activists were fuming at the hyper-indulgence in such a mindless activity, David Ramsay, the convener of the event was quoted by the Daily Times as saying, "We think we're doing something to tackle the rabbit problem and I think the majority of views, especially those of farmers, are in our favour."

The event carried a total prize money of NZ$3,500 (US$2,800) and the most sought-after prize was the trophy for the team which shoots the greatest number of rabbits, informed the convenor.

Animal welfare group SAFE lambasted the barbaric practise and was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times as saying, "It's seen as a party atmosphere, sending people out as inexperienced hunters blasting away at animals...The ones they kill are one thing, the ones they injure are another."

Whatever the prize and reason may be for such a heinous event, the pious day of Easter celebrated to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't certainly ascribe to the idea of indulging in a bloody sport to kill thousands of innocent dumb creatures.

OneIndia News