An Oamaru police officer who tasered an out-of-control goat 13 times will not face charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
Eighteen months after the incident and subsequent investigation, documentation provided to the Otago Daily Times by the Ministry for Primary Industries has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding Senior Constable Carl Pedersen's decision to taser the animal and the decision not to prosecute him.
On December 1, 2016, Pedersen was called to an Oamaru address after a goat that had escaped from an abattoir two days earlier had been cornered in a garage by the resident's dog.
After consideration by Pedersen and an animal control officer, it was decided that the former would enter the garage, taser the goat and attempt to tether it so it could be removed from the property.
Pedersen discharged his Taser 13 times when confronting the goat, the documents said.