Statement from PETA regarding Otago Easter Bunny Hunt
By perpetuating this cruel and ineffective killing cycle each Easter, the Central Otago region will only exacerbate its environmental problems. Science tells us that lethal control doesn’t provide a long-term solution to invasive animal populations and, in fact, can backfire, since it creates a spike in the food supply, prompts accelerated breeding, and encourages more animals to move into the area. In any kind of animal slaughter, families are torn apart and orphaned young are left vulnerable to starvation, dehydration, and attacks by other animals. The Easter Bunny Hunt is nothing short of a massacre.
Quite so! It is SUPPOSED to be a massacre! That is the whole POINT!
Comment: IMHO, no-one living outside of Otago really has the right to criticise steps taken to get rid of these pests. We know what happens down here. But I was pleased to see in the Stuff website comments on PETA’s bleat that about 98% were in favour of the Bunny Hunt, and only 4 or 5 against. I hope PETA might take that message on board, and perhaps turn their attention to other species that might melt their hearts, such as locusts and E. coli. And realise that there is a literature beyond Peter Rabbit