Farmers have had 'a gutsful' of poachers

Farmers are taking things into their own hands to combat poaching on their land. Photo: File
Farmers are taking things into their own hands to combat poaching on their land. Photo: File

Farmers have had "a gutsful" of poachers and are taking matters into their own hands, says the daughter of a man who claimed he was shot at in the early hours of yesterday.

Police were called at 1am after Alisdair Macleay said a gun was turned on him by people who were allegedly "spotlighting" on his farm from the back of a ute.

The alleged spotlighters left the Hunterville property but Macleay, who was not hit, was able to give police a description of a vehicle.

His daughter Julie Macleay, whose farm neighbours her father's property, said she woke up in the middle of the night and went to check on her four-and-a-half-month-old daughter.

She heard vehicles screaming past the property and her father turned up soon after.

"He was wired... the adrenalin was pumping," she said.

Macleay said he had just confronted the group and managed to get a description of their vehicle.

Later that morning, police stopped a utility vehicle in Levin.

Three people aged between 19 and 20 are due to appear in the Levin District Court today charged with firearms offences.

Julie Macleay said farmers along Turakina Valley Rd were starting to work together to combat poaching in the area, patrolling the road overnight and installing more cameras.

"We've all had enough," she said.

"My neighbour says, 'Shoot first and ask later'."

Poaching was an ongoing issue in the area, with an ebb and flow pattern, but had been particularly bad lately.

She said an incident was occurring every second night and it was affecting more than a dozen sheep and beef farmers along the road.

Macleay said she had a similar experience to her father's 12 months ago and followed a vehicle all the way to Marton while having a spotlight shone at her. In Marton, she lost sight of the vehicle and went to the police station to call for help but the after-hours phone was out-of-order.

"Yes, the police would rather we sit inside and take their number plate but ... it's our livelihood.

"Legislation is so light on this sort of thing. There's not enough of a deterrent," she said.

"You imagine if someone came driving past your home in town and shot into your yard at your pet dog and then took off with it ... but out here it's not seen in the same way when someone comes on to our farm," said Ms Macleay.

"In town [the police] can get there faster, too, which is why we take it into our own hands to do something."

She said the poachers targeted goats, deer, sheep and cattle.

"The other week seven dead goats were found on our road. That goes beyond the need to feed."

A neighbour on the same road said: "We've had two or three cattle beasts shot in the last couple of years."

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