Northland farmers warn of vigilante justice if spike in cattle killings continues - 'We'll turn to our guns'

There’s been a spike in stock being shot, mutilated and cut up for meat.

Warning: Some images are disturbing in this report .

Some Northland farmers are warning they'll turn to their guns to protect themselves and their stock amid a surge in cases of cattle being shot and butchered on the spot by rustlers.

The problem has been ongoing for years, but farmers have told 1 NEWS it's sharply risen in recent months.

"It's very serious because, you know, you're looking at a $2000 beast, and you're losing four or five of them and you're down the tubes," beef farmer Bruce Clare told 1 NEWS.

He farms 1500 acres at Kai Iwi Lakes north of Dargaville.

"It takes two years, three years to get that animal up to that $2000 mark, so you've had it for three years and for nothing, you've lost it, you've lost all that money.

"So what do you do?".

ONN 1 News at 6 promo image

One of Mr Clare's next answers sent a warning to rustlers.

"We'll turn to our guns, we'll start carrying guns and we'll go out every moonlit night because it seems to be happening at moonlight when they can see."

Farmers spoken to by 1 NEWS have given photos that, in many cases, are too grim to fully show.

They depict remains of cattle stripped of meat with offal, limbs and the head remaining.

"Something's got to be done about it because we've had about 15 in our area in the last six months... killed and just left."

'I'LL BE HONEST, I WANTED TO ALMOST CRY'

We spoke wtih another farmer, Ian Russell, before he was due to put down one of his cows that had been shot, but survived.

"They just came into a herd of cows, pregnant cows, calves afoot and gunshot one, two, three of them," he told 1 NEWS.

"I'll be honest, I wanted to almost cry when I saw... Some of them have been with me for quite a long time, probably more than 10 years.

"And then it went to anger, so I had to keep away from doing something irresponsible or reactionary rather than letting logic prevail," Mr Russell said.

"I always get a bit emotional when I see my animals that have suffered and I know they've suffered, just being shot."

He's faced years of problems from rustlers, but now more than ever.

He says he's also faced uphill battles with various ministers from various governments, and the police, trying to get action.

WHERE IS THE LAW?

"'They just don't have the resources,' that's what they tell us," Bruce Clare tells 1 NEWS when asked about police involvement.

Distance is also a problem, he says.

"We're 36km out of town and by the time [police] get there, they're long gone.

"We'll take matters into our own hands, we won't kill anyone, we won't shoot anyone, but we'll disable their vehicles if we can so they can't get away.

"And the police can catch them, come out and do something about it."

Mr Russell, who says he's lost more than 760 cattle and 2700 sheep over the years, says he can help the police, but farmers aren't paid to do it.

He says police, and various government ministers, haven't been taking the problem seriously.

Mr Russell says one minister wrote to him in 1993 essentially saying he was imagining his thefts and that the police had found no evidence.

"You find no evidence when you don't come near the place.

"We're just looking at trying to have, instead of a neighbourhood watch, a meat watch, to try and certainly deter people that are doing it."

Mr Russell labels it "self-policing".

"That's the only option we've got, we have a right to protect our properties and our livlihoods so we're not going to let these guys keep roaming around and shooting."

WHAT THE POLICE SAY

A statement given to 1 NEWS, police said officers take incidents "very seriously".

"They are extremely distressing for those involved and members of the public within the surrounding community," Constable Shane Dunn said.

"We want to assure people these animal deaths are investigated throughly."

Anyone with information has been urged to call (09) 439 3400 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

WHAT FARMERS TELL 1 NEWS

"In the last couple of years it's really become a big issue. We've lost about three cows, they've been butchered - so killed on site, butchered at night, and then they take the shoulders and the legs and then they go. They leave the rest of the animal on the ground and we pick up the scent some days later when we find the animal starting to break down. The amount of money that is being generated from this activity is huge so I think it's almost like the Police need to set up another crime unit, to actually cater for that need." - Snow Tane, General Manager of Te Roroa Development, which covers 3000 hectares

"It's bad enough to actually shoot an animal but if they'd taken it you wouldn't feel quite so bad. But just to shoot an animal, leave it suffering like it was, there's somm horrendous damage inside there., They must've been in extreme pain, no doubt about that. Unfortunately you don't know until you find it. It seems to be escalating... and they're not low-powered rifles, they're high-powered rifles. It's not a 22, put it that way, which is quite serious." - Barry Shine, farms 500 acres of dairy cows and beef stock

"We had two bulls shot, they were butchered and taken away with just a pile of guts, two piles of guts left in the paddock... It was a real neat job, they weren't amateurs, very sharp knives and they knew how to use them. Anything could happen, you know, you take a rifle to protect yourself and then we're in trouble if we shoot first, we're in trouble. Not quite sure what you should do sometimes at times like that." - Roger Jordan, sheep and beef farm manager

"I feel it's a game-changer because we're living in a more violent society. Throw in P in amongst it and it becomes a little more scary than it used to be... Yeah, I am scared, more so than I used to because I don't want to shoot anyone and I don't want to be shot... But anybody that knows me will know that I'll go own fighting to protect what is rightfully mine and my livelihood and my property, and when you're a compassionate farmer it doesn't go down too well when you see your animals wounded." - Ian Russell, owns several farms

"You might go into the paddock and think oh it's got a sore leg, it's limping a bit, so you go back three or four days later and it's lying down now, so you go and have a look and Christ, it's got a bullet hole in its head. So then you've got to shoot it yourself and put it out of its misery, it's $2000-$3000 down the drain just like that. It's got to be going somewhere, feeding somebody. I'd say it's going down to Auckland and those sorts of places and being sold under the table at markets." - Bruce Clare, beef farmer on 1500 acres

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