Three people were shot and a house sprayed with shotgun pellets on the opening day of duck-hunting season yesterday.
The incidents prompted an angry response from Firearms Safety Specialists NZ and a redoubling of safety messages from police and hunting groups.
Among those shot was a 10-year-old Taranaki boy, who caught a ricochet in his foot while hunting with relatives in Inglewood.
The boy was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital in a stable condition.
In Akitio, in the Tararua District, a 55-year-old man was shot in the eye with a pellet while hunting shortly after 8am. He was taken to Palmerston North Hospital in a stable condition.