Spotlighters blamed for wounding

Press, 23 May 1977, Page 1

Spotlighters blamed for wounding

Goldie, a pony, is lucky to be alive. She has a bullet lodged in a foreleg after a night shooter shot at her on Thursday evening. Suzanne Kolkman, aged nine, can do little but wait to see if her pony will be all right. A veterinarian has not been able to get the bullet out of the pony’s leg, but it is hoped the bullet will fester its way out. Mr and Mrs W. F. Kolknian farm on Mount Thomas Road, near the Ashley River, a popular place for “poachers” to try their luck. Mr Kolkman said he had had trouble with shooters for about two years. Goldie is not the only victim of trigger-happy shooters. Two months ago, Mr Kolkman found a sheep shot dead on his property’. Mr Kolkman caught the shooter almost in the act because the spotlight had shone on his bedroom window. “I got his car number, 1 saw the spotlight, I heard a gun — but that was all 1 could do. The police did not prosecute,” he said. “What do you do? Do you take the law into your own hands?”

Mr Kolkman has asked his lawyer for advice about the rights of a pro-perty-owner. However. Mr Kolkman, said it appeared that a person would have to be caught In the act of shooting an animal before he could be prosecuted. This was difficult to do with night shooters in a car on an open road. “The problem gets worse after we turn out the night light. We have young children and we are very concerned for their safety,” said Mr Kolkman. The shooters drove along the road spot-lighting and shoot from the road. “It is supposed to be illegal to shoot from the road and spotlights are also supposed to be illegal used in that manner,” he said. “A sheep doesn’t really matter, but when it is a child's pet that is shot it is a different story,” said Mrs Kolkman. “Suzanne is very upset," she said. Mrs Kolkman said a neighbour had seen a car in the area that night, and the occupants had been shooting. The Rangiora police are investigating.