Illegal hunter gets home detention

Judge Burnett said Barry Jefferies' actions had put the community in danger. Photo / Thinkstock

Illegal night-time hunting is a major problem in the Rotorua region, with offenders going to considerable lengths to remain undetected, a Crown prosecutor has told the Rotorua District Court.

Pointing to the number of tragic hunting accidents throughout the country, Annabel Cresswell was arguing for a prison sentence for a man caught hunting with four loaded guns, dogs and other hunting gear stashed in his ute when it was brought to a halt in a privately operated forest near Tokoroa in October.

Barry Jefferies, 43, had earlier pleaded guilty to unlawful hunting, unlawfully being in an exotic forest and reckless driving.

Judge Merelina Burnett sentenced him to four months' and a week's home detention on the hunting charge, added another two weeks to be served concurrently for the driving offence and ordered the confiscation of the gear he had been carrying.

She also instructed Jefferies to pay $2386 reparation to a forestry security company whose vehicle had been damaged while pursuing Jefferies and a companion as they sped through rough forestry road and to forfeit the ute.

Jefferies, an unlicensed driver, was disqualified from getting a driver's licence for six months. His co-accused has yet to be dealt with by the court.

Ms Cresswell told the court the maximum penalty for illegal hunting had recently risen to a maximum two years' imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $100,000.

Jefferies' lawyer Andy Schulze said the road the men were stopped on was partially overgrown and rarely used, indicating it was not a place of risk to other forest users.

He suggested Jefferies could be punished by a community-based sentence.

However, Judge Burnett said Jefferies' actions had put the community in danger.

She said when the ute was searched there were four loaded firearms in it, two with ammunition in their chambers. Also uncovered were four stolen forestry gate keys, "hunter-specific" clothing and paraphernalia. This included saws, shovels, spotlights, dog collars, knives and ammunition. The ute had been carrying false number plates and was spotted by police and security officers during an operation targeting illegal forest users, the summary of facts said.