According to Chuck Jones, the revelation of the animator in the ending is just for comedic value - Jones (the director) is speaking to the audience directly, asking "Who is Daffy Duck anyway? Would you recognize him if I did THIS to him?"
Bugs Bunny needed to be used at the end, because no other character had any kind of antagonism with Daffy (acquired by Bugs over the course of the Hunting Trilogy in Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck!) and Elmer Fudd is not a competent enough character - an ironic point considering the next year Elmer Fudd gets his animator's shots at Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Rampage.
In animation historian Jerry Beck's 1994 poll of animators, film historians and directors, this cartoon was rated the second greatest cartoon of all time.
Released in 1953, but completed and copyrighted in 1951. During this late forties-early fifties period, Warner Bros., MGM and Disney/RKO stockpiled many cartoons, releasing them a year or two after completion.
This cartoon nearly didn't get made because there was resistance to the idea of using Bugs Bunny in such a limited role near the end.