Rabbit control operations costing $75,000 will be undertaken on public land in the Upper Clutha this autumn and winter as the pest numbers rise over the allowable limit.
The Department of Conservation had received request notices from the Otago Regional Council requiring notification of how it intended to bring down rabbit numbers in areas such as the Dublin Bay management area, between Albert Town and Hawea.
''It's bad out there,'' Doc senior ranger Paul Hondelink said.
Other areas with problems included the Hawea River conservation area, Butterfields wildlife management area, the Clutha River marginal strip from the Albert Town bridge to Luggate, Poison Creek conservation area and Locharburn scientific reserve.
Mr Hondelink said rabbit numbers were high in many areas because poisoning operations planned for last winter were postponed due to warm conditions.
Those operations had been reactivated with the aim of getting numbers down below the allowable level.
Plans and consultation were under way to use pindone cereal bait applied by the trickle feed method aerially. About 3kg to 5kg per ha was used depending on rabbit numbers and applied three times.
Starting in two weeks, weather conditions permitting, 800ha would be targeted and in early winter another 800ha or more - including areas such as Mt Iron - would be done.
