'Brazen' theft of hunter's gear

Havelock police are seeking information about an "opportunistic, brazen theft" from a pig hunter's truck left unattended for less than 10 minutes.

Senior Constable Andrew Wilson said the distressed hunter was still covered in pig blood when he reported the incident, which happened at 10am yesterday.

He had left his truck unlocked for less than 10 minutes. Inside were a GPS tracking system, five pig dog tracking collars, and a knife and a video camera strapped to a hunting belt.

The man and his dogs had just killed a pig on the hill above Cullens Point, Mr Wilson said.

The hunter then did the responsible thing and returned his dogs to the truck before going to collect the pig. One young dog, however, had not followed the others, although the hunter could hear it close by.

He went to retrieve the dog, and while momentarily out of sight, perhaps only 200 metres from his truck, he heard another vehicle approach.

Returning to the truck, he found that the second vehicle had gone – and so had his equipment.

Only a four-wheel-drive could have travelled to the area where the hunter was, up a dirt track, Mr Wilson said.

"[The hunter] could hear the vehicle and he knows they would have heard him yelling out to his dog."

Anyone in the local hunting fraternity who saw vehicles in the area around 10am yesterday is asked to contact Havelock police, phone 5742011.

- The Marlborough Express