A small rural town in New Zealand has been forced to cancel one of the highlights on its social calendar - a rabbit-throwing contest.

About 400 people live in Waiau in the South Island. This weekend the town will hold its annual pig hunt.

In previous years a 'rabbit throw' has been organised for the local children, who compete to see how far they can hurl a dead bunny.

But the event is now off, after New Zealand's equivalent of the RSPCA got wind of it.

Animal cruelty inspector Charles Cadwallader says throwing bunnies is sick.

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

The organiser of the pig hunt, Jo Moriarty, says it is political correctness gone mad.

"You know, the children of the community here are fantastic, they love their animals," he said.

New Zealand has more than 30 million wild rabbits.