Five men arrested over illegal hunting in Waitomo

Following a report received by the police on illegal hunting on in the Waitomo area, five men were arrested on Monday night, 20 April.

About 11pm, police were called to a rural property where they found five men unlawfully hunting deer on private land.

Only one of the men had a firearms license.

The men have been arrested and are due to appear in court at a later date on unlawful hunting chargers.

Additional charges are being considered, including in relation to breaching Level 4 restrictions.

Under Alert Level 4, hunting is banned in New Zealand.

“We take unlawful hunting very seriously at any time, but this is particularly foolish during the Level 4 restrictions,” says detective sergeant Rene Rakete, acting Area investigations manager, Western Waikato.

“Illegal activity involving firearms is extremely dangerous and we will not tolerate it at any time.”