A Canterbury farmer is offering a $2000 reward after his pet stag was shot and butchered on Monday night.
Photos are all Allan Rhodes has left of his 12 pointer stag he says was a pet.
The Oxford sheep and beef farmer was horrified to discover poachers had snuck onto his property during the night and shot and killed the animal in the middle of an open paddock.
They took everything, chopping off the stag's legs, butchering him for his meat and also taking the highly prized 12 point antlers.
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It's the third such slaughter in the area in recent months and police are vowing to catch the poachers.
In May, another pet stag was shot and killed on a private property, having its head and antlers cut off, taken as a trophy by poachers.
Last month the same thing was done to a pet goat on another property.
"It's just total senseless," Mr Rhodes told Newshub.
"I don't normally get attached to animals but this particular stag was unique from the day he arrived on the place.
"He moved round the farm with the different sheep with the cattle and he'd come into our cattle yards - we have no deer fences on the place and he just loved being with all the other animals."
Mr Rhodes partner Lisa Bullock simply can't believe people entered their property armed with a high powered rifle.
"It makes you wonder if they planned it and have been watching, there's three houses in close proximity and no one as far as I'm aware heard or saw anything."
Mr Rhodes is offering a two thousand dollar reward for information leading to the identity of the person or person responsible.
Constable Aaron Campbell of the Oxford Police says the incident is a major concern.
"It is a concern and a worry that it's happening in Oxford - certainly not something I like happening in my little town so I'd like to put a stop to it if I can," he says.
"Anything involving the use of firearms on private property is a concern for us, worse case scenario if they had of came out and confronted the offenders on their land who knows what would have happened."
Newshub.
