Otago's increasing rabbit problem has been exacerbated by the heavy rainfall in the region in the past month, the Otago Regional Council says.
Perfect breeding conditions during spring had created an explosion in rabbit numbers in Otago, which one Cromwell rabbiter in December described as the biggest in 25 years.
In late December and early January, Otago, especially the southern lakes area, was hit by heavy rainfalls.
ORC regional services operations manager Peter Preston said the rain had come too late and was not heavy enough to drown rabbits in their nests as most had already grown to sub-adult or adult stage and were no longer nesting underground.
"It is unlikely to have had any impact at all."
The rain had "greened" up the region, exacerbating the rabbit problem, especially in the Wakatipu and Wanaka areas.
"It's provided a great supply of food for them," he said.
The extra food would increase the rabbits' bodyweight as they went into their next breeding cycle, closer to autumn, he said.
Farmers he had spoken to had expressed concern about the number of rabbits on their properties, which were "not diminishing" at this stage.
The high rabbit numbers, combined with a lower mandatory rabbit-control threshold, meant farmers were facing some tough decisions, Mr Preston said.
They had to notify pest controllers as soon as possible if they needed to do a poisoning operation because there was likely to be increased demand and only a short window in which to undertake the work when conditions were right, from July to August.
"Pre-planning is vitally important."
Adding to the problem was the increase of rabbits in urban areas, because controlling numbers within town and city boundaries was very difficult, he said.
