The Central Otago rabbit population has been reduced by 18,027 in 24 hours thanks to the Alexandra Lions Easter Bunny Hunt.
Although there was the same number of hunters as last year, almost 8000 more rabbits were killed, with the highest team count coming from Ettrick.
''There were isolated pockets this year ... The uncharacteristic thing was, the winning team were at Ettrick,'' hunt convener Dave Ramsay said.
That team, the Hair Raisin' Mutineers, made up of people from around the country, shot 1366 rabbits.
Pests were not the only things to be shot, though.
About 10am on Saturday morning, a 26-year-old Southland man accidentally shot himself while hunting alone on a Queensberry property and was flown to Dunedin Hospital.
It was thought he lost his footing while shooting and fell, receiving injuries to his left hand and forehead.
Mr Ramsay said the man had had surgery overnight and was recovering yesterday. It was the first shooting incident in the event's 23-year history.
''We've had probably over 10,000 shooters over the years, so we've been pretty lucky ... with guns, vehicles and adrenaline, there's always a risk element.
''It was just a complete accident; he could have been out shooting a rabbit for his cat and have it happen.''
Sergeant Simon Paget said police were no longer investigating the incident because they were satisfied it was an accident and the team members had ''obeyed the cardinal rules of firearm safety''.
Mr Ramsay said that despite the incident, it had been one of the more successful years - he had no phone calls on Friday from teams who were lost or could not find farmers.
He said the traditional high-count areas of Queensberry, Wanaka Airport and Tarras did appear in the top 10 but also produced some of the lowest rabbit tallies.
Team Friday Mates, experienced hunters mostly from Dunedin, shot only 34 rabbits on a Tarras property.
Mr Ramsay said the low tally was probably because the farmer had been working hard to keep the pest population down.
The Gunners, a team of soldiers shooting on a Shingle Creek property, shot 222 rabbits. About 630 hares, 17 possums and 21 stoats were also killed.
Robert Evans, from the Hokonui A Team, won the best vehicle prize for a van converted into a mobile shooting platform.
