"There's lots of cover around, so the odds were on the rabbits' side this time, and they were in hiding," hunt convener Dave Ramsay, of Alexandra, said.
A total of 10,424 rabbits were killed by 36 teams during the 24-hour event, which began on Friday morning. The haul was displayed in Pioneer Park, Alexandra, on Saturday.
Teams of hunters from all over New Zealand took part, and the Southern Hopper Stoppers, an Otago-Southland-Canterbury team led by professional rabbiter Ray Moffat, of Cromwell, won the hunt, bagging 1035 rabbits.
This year's tally was less than half last year's total of 22,904 but the hunters and Mr Ramsay said there were still plenty of rabbits around, but more growth, so the animals were harder to find and shoot.
The top team shot on a Queensberry property and the top 10 tallies recorded were from Tarras, Butchers Dam, Moa Creek, Dublin Bay, Lindis Valley, Island Block and Cromwell properties.
Mr Moffat was delighted with his team's win after being placed second six times.
The 12-strong team had five vehicles in action and although there was lots of grass growth, a thorough "grid search" flushed out the rabbits, he said.
First-time entrants, The Gunners, were made up of members of the New Zealand Army artillery regiment, based at Palmerston North. Team captain Catherine Dymock, formerly of Alexandra, said the team's total of 167 rabbits was "something we'll work on to improve".
The block it drew in the ballot was right next to the Wanaka airport, so the noise from the airshow might have contributed to the team's poor effort, "although we struggled a bit with the night shooting, too".
Mr Ramsay said two hunters needed medical treatment during the event, one of them after the vehicle he was in rolled several times on a block near Alexandra on Friday night. The other hunter, in a different team, had fallen off a vehicle. Neither had to be admitted to hospital -"and thankfully, there were no accidents involving firearms", he said.
After being counted in Pioneer Park on Saturday afternoon, the rabbits were picked up by the Alexandra Scouts, who carry out the exercise as a fund-raiser. The animals were then taken to a farm property well out of town, to be buried in a pit.
As well as dispatching rabbits, the 432 hunters in the event also disposed of 475 hares, 42 possums and 34 stoats.
The bunny hunt is organised by the Alexandra Lions Club and last year the club donated $10,000, mostly raised through the event, to an upgrade of the St John base in Alexandra.
