Otago Regional Council is relying on farmers to help combat rabbit numbers which are at their highest levels in more than a decade.
An annual rabbit survey by the council has found that rabbit numbers exceed the maximum allowable limit on about 60,000 hectares of land in Central and Eastern Otago.
The recent breeding season for rabbits was very good and as a result, populations have exploded.
Rabbits are at their highest levels since a haemorrhagic disease was illegally introduced in 1997, and poisoning is the only option.
Regional services group manager Jeff Donaldson says a winter programme to control rabbits using aerial poisoning is underway, but it covers only 5000 hectares.
