Three rustlers who jammed 14 sheep in their vehicle lay across the distressed animals in the back of the car to prevent them from being seen, a court has heard.
The trio were yesterday convicted on multiple charges of ill-treating an animal and burglary arising from the May incident.
John Richard Kaka, 22, Jonathan David Dunick, 23 and Desi James Cook, 23, pleaded guilty in Hastings District Court to stealing the sheep and packing them into their Mazda 626 on May 31.
About midnight near Pekapeka on SH2 the three forced the animals into the car.
The animals were hog-tied and stacked on top of each other, while others were forced into foot wells and the spare tyre cavity.
Police attempted to pull over the Mazda before a short pursuit ensued.
When the car finally stopped the three fled on foot. Two sheep were dead, while others were making "gurgling noises".
The court heard the incident was one of numerous rustling offences, where the men acted as a group or alone, cruising the region looking for stock.
The animals were butchered and either frozen for their own consumption or sold.
Cook said on one occasion he stole five sheep from a property near Pukehamoamoa School as it was his birthday and he had family to feed at his party.
Dunick was also convicted for a breach of community work.
His lawyer, Eric Forster, said he had found work and was working to earn as much money as he could before sentencing, where he would "perhaps inevitably face prison or home detention".
The three will be sentenced in the High Court at Napier on August 17.
- APN
Mazda sheep rustlers guilty
Photo / Hawke's Bay Today
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