The SPCA says it will lay charges over the slaughter of 33 dogs in Northland last week.
The dogs were allegedly shot by two men with a .22 calibre rifle and a shotgun in a dispute between the dogs' owner Rowan Hargreaves and his neighbour Russell Mendoza at a rural property near Wellsford.
Auckland SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge told Radio New Zealand this afternoon it had not yet been determined what charges would be laid.
That would depend on the outcome of test results and police investigations, he said.
Police last week described the slaughter at Wellsford as a "bloody, rifle-killing frenzy".
Some of the dogs were shot in their cage or were hit by ricocheting bullets while others were shot at point-blank range.
The dispute began last Monday when a fox terrier belonging to Russell Mendoza was found dead after being mauled by another animal, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Mr Mendoza blamed the death on one or more of the 39 dogs owned by his neighbour Rowan Hargreaves who lived on a 5ha block in an old quarry.
Mr Hargreaves, a mechanic who lives in a broken-down truck surrounded by car wrecks, denied any responsibility, but agreed that he had to shoot one of his dogs for attacking sheep.
Mr Hargreaves said the next day Mr Mendoza and another man arrived at his property, armed with a .22 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun.
They handed him a note to sign saying he agreed to the shooting the rest of his dogs.
He said he signed the letter because he felt "under enormous pressure" and stood behind a shack to shield himself from the "bloodbath".
He held back tears as he described the sounds of his dogs being shot. The sounds that echoed off the quarry walls for 20 minutes.
"They were screaming, making sounds dogs just don't make. When one was gone, the others knew they'd be next, but they had nowhere to go."
Four pups hiding under their mother in the van and two other dogs survived.
