Wellington - This weekend will not be a good time for the Easter bunny in the central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.

More than 10 000 of them currently leaping about on farms in the area will not see the light of day on Sunday after 390 shooters take part in the annual Alexandra Easter Bunny Hunt.

The hunters, divided into about 33 teams, will start firing at nine o'clock on Friday morning and have until 1pm on Saturday to take their hauls to a park in Alexandra, 200km north-west of Dunedin, for counting.

Rabbits have long been a pest to farmers in the region and are increasing again after the population was hit by disease about six years ago, hunt organiser Dave Ramsay told the Otago Daily Times. - Sapa-DPA