Two youths have been referred to the youth justice process after two prize stags were illegally shot and killed on private land in Bendigo, Central Otago.
Police said the stags were killed on May 17. Officers from Cromwell and Queenstown executed search warrants at properties in Cromwell and Lake Hayes on Wednesday morning after following lines of inquiry.
During the searches, police identified two youths in connection with the unlawful hunting.
“One of the youths is a firearms licence holder,” police said. “That licence as well as firearms were seized by police during the search warrant.”
Police also recovered antlers believed to belong to the two stags. The antlers were to be returned to the owner.
