KEY POINTS:
A farmer who fired his shotgun over the heads of two men trying to steal petrol says he used the gun "to let them know that we were there".
Lloyd Bonnar, of Morrinsville, said he had the gun to protect his wife and "because we did not know what to expect at 12.45 in the morning. It was never fired in anger but just to let them know that we were there.
"In hindsight maybe the gun should have been left in the cabinet."
Police said yesterday the dairy farmer would not be charged for firing his shotgun in the August incident.
Mr Bonnar described the past 2 1/2 months as stressful.
"After being burgled on several occasions we put in a new alarm system and our problem arose because we had not put in place a plan to avoid confrontation," he said.
Police said a successful prosecution was deemed unlikely, and there was an element of public interest in the decision to not press charges against Mr Bonnar.
But they warned that every case was judged on its own merits and the decision was not a licence for farmers to take the law in to their own hands.
"The decision not to prosecute in this case is not an indication that police endorse possession of firearms for protective purposes," Waikato police detective inspector Peter Devoy said.
"I cannot emphasise strongly enough that every case is different. The individual circumstances vary widely, as do the range of outcomes."
On August 13 the burglars, Johnathon Lawrence Johnson, 21, and Bobby John Saunders (who also uses the surname Morrison), 26, were challenged by Mr Bonnar, who fired his gun.
The pair were ordered from their vehicle and told to lie on the ground until police arrived. Last month Johnson and Saunders pleaded guilty to separate charges of theft and unlawfully being on private property.
Mr Bonnar, who is married with several children, has received support from throughout the country.
He said he wanted to put the matter behind him and asked that his family be left to its privacy.
Federated Farmers president Charlie Pedersen said he backed the police decision not to charge Mr Bonnar.
He did not rule out a farmer's choice to defend property, themselves and their family, but said taking a gun crossed a "very, very important line".
"You can either lie under your bed and hide and wait for police to arrive, or you can go and do something - but if you do that you never know who it is you're going to confront. People have been beaten and seriously injured doing just that."
Although farmers should take what ever precautions necessary, he said his organisation would never encourage its members to take out firearms to deal with situations.
This was despite a chronic problem with rural burglaries and thefts.
"Society is right to be concerned about anyone who takes up firearms at any time.
"We've had home invasions occur in New Zealand, we've had families held to ransom, that's why it's increasingly important to re-establish community networks."
Mr Bonnar said he would be meeting Morrinsville police next week to see what could be done to establish a neighbourhood watch programme.
"There's hardly a farmer in the district who has not been done over at some stage, it's a real problem at the moment," he said. Petrol was often a target, but so were tools and vehicles.
Guidelines would be drawn up to help those who came up against similar problems.
Mr Devoy said contingency planning was essential for rural people, who were often disadvantaged by not having police five minutes away.
"Mr Bonnar's actions have been examined closely."
