PC Run Amok

I agree that PC has run amok in Waiau. Rural communities have their own standards that should be given precedence here. As much as I like rabbits, in New Zealand, the original Paradise For Birds, they are pests. Rabbits there need to be flung, stomped, broken, and ground into a fine powdery meal. Do you see what they - rightfully - do to Cane Toads in Australia? Why should rabbits be any different?

In the contest, which is held each year to coincide with the start of the pig hunt, children see how far they can throw a dead rabbit.

But the RSPCA said the rabbit-throw sent a message to children that dead animals were fun and could legitimately be used as a form of entertainment.

Charles Cadwallader, animal cruelty inspector, said the rabbit-throw was also cruel.

"Do you throw your dead grandmother around for a joke at her funeral?" he said.

However, not everyone in the town agrees with the ban.

The organiser of the pig hunt, Jo Moriarty, said the decision to can the event was political correctness gone mad.

"You know, the children of the community here are fantastic, they love their animals," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Ms Moriarty said children communities like Waiau had a better respect for animals because they are brought up with them.

Rabbits are considered to be pests in New Zealand.

The country has more than 30 million wild rabbits, which cause an estimated $22 million worth of damage. In Waiau there are farmers employed full time for rabbit eradication.