Sheep rustlers have been at work on a Maxwell property and farm manager Russell Addenbrook says the incidents have been reported to the police but he would like people in the area to be on the lookout.
"Several sheep have been shot and removed from the property with their entrails left behind, and one sheep had been shot through the neck and left alive," he said.
Mr Addenbrook said the farm lambs had been moved to the smaller roadside paddock while he had been spraying for aphids in the main paddock, and the thieves had been shooting them through the fence.
Whanganui police Senior Sergeant Andrew McDonald said unfortunately stock thefts were a seasonal problem and he encouraged people to be vigilant.
"Not to belittle this latest incident, but we do see a lot of it around this time of year. We ask people in the rural farming area to be on the lookout for strange vehicles and take down registration numbers.