Boy shot as duck season opens

An 11-year-old Dunedin boy is in hospital after he was shot in the face by his father while duck shooting.

Police have seized all the man's firearms and his licence while the incident is being investigated.

Detective Sergeant Brett Roberts, of Dunedin police, said the boy and his parents were shooting at a private pond in Milton when the incident happened on Saturday afternoon.

The boy walked off in one direction with his mother, while the father went another way.

Mr Roberts said it appeared the man was attempting to shoot in the air when one of the pellets from his shotgun hit his son near the eye.

The boy was standing about 100m from his father.

He was taken by ambulance to Dunedin Hospital. He is expected to be discharged today.

Mr Roberts said it was understood the pellet may have been embedded in the boy's face, but it was not known today if he had undergone surgery. The shooting was predictable, Mr Roberts said.

"We always expect something. We always have duck shooting incidents."

He said he believed police would have been investigating a far more serious incident if it was not for this year's introduction of steel pellets, which replaced the lead ones.

"They [lead pellets] would have done a lot more damage."

- NZPA