Rabbit control across five Central Otago cemeteries will begin next week, following a meeting in Cromwell last Friday (June 26) where the mayor was invited to help sort the problem.

Friends of Cromwell Cemetery have been asking Central Otago District Council (CODC) staff for the past year to find a solution to the rabbit-infested site, and despite two declined funding applications for fencing, have not given up their fight.

Rabbits have significantly contributed to ongoing damage to grave sites, including subsidence causing concrete edging to crack and headstones to topple.

CODC mayor Tamah Alley attended the meeting along with 21 others on Friday, where the group questioned why it had taken so long for their cemetery to be tidied up.

“2025 has been a year of no changes other than a few rabbit holes and scratchings being filled and an irrigation line being repaired on the northern boundary,” group member Bev Fraser said in a report after the meeting.

Council told the group in May there was no doubt the cemetery needed some investment but the advice from staff was that rabbit proof fencing was not required.

The group recently applied for funding from both CODC and Otago Regional Council for $48,000 for rabbit proof fencing and was declined on both.

Read more: Cemetery group misses out on rabbit proof fencing funding

Read more: ORC pays out one million in environmental projects across region

CODC released a statement on Tuesday morning (July 1) saying that rabbit control operations were set to begin at Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Ranfurly and Roxburgh cemeteries on July 7.

The programme would involve laying pindone-laced carrot bait over a period of four weeks, with the overall operation expected to conclude within approximately eight weeks.

“Pindone carrot is used in winter, as this is when food sources are most scarce and fewer young rabbits are present. The bait will be dyed green to make it easily identifiable and will be laid by hand and quad bike by a contractor. All affected areas will be clearly signposted with warning notices.”

CODC parks and recreation manager Gordon Bailey said the seasonal control method was typically 80–90 percent effective.

“The council is aware that users of these spaces may be inconvenienced for the control period, but the benefits of having less rabbits will allow future native plantings to become established.”

Pindone is dangerous to humans and domestic animals, and council reminded the public to follow safety precautions around the baited areas:

• Do not handle bait or rabbit carcasses
• Keep children supervised at all times
• Prevent dogs from accessing carcasses
• Do not eat animals from the area or within 2km of the area

Rabbit carcasses would be collected regularly to reduce potential risks to pets and people.

Meanwhile, Friends of Cromwell Cemetery said the rabbit fencing issue has been temporarily deferred and would be revisited once they submitted a rabbit management plan to council, and there was confirmation that developers and industrial landowners were required to provide fencing along the cemetery boundary of their properties.