A decision on former All Black Andrew Hore's appeal against a firearms conviction is expected to be made within the next two days.
Hore (37), of Patearoa, was convicted in the Alexandra District Court on Thursday of supplying a firearm to an unlicensed person in Paerau on May 2.
He was fined $400 and court costs of $130.
An appeal was immediately lodged, and it was heard by Justice Rachel Dunningham in the High Court at Dunedin this afternoon.
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Advertise with NZME.Hore's counsel, David Robinson, said the consequences of the conviction far outweighed the gravity of the offence, and it would affect Hore's ability to travel to the UK where he had work available during the Rugby World Cup.
He sought a discharge without conviction.
Hore supplied the gun to the unlicensed person at about 8am on the day of the incident, the opening day of duck-shooting season.
Charges were laid against Hore and three other men after a police investigation into an accident later that day in which a duck-shooter received a serious injury.
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Advertise with NZME.The man was injured when a gun discharged after it fell off an all-terrain vehicle.
He was dealt with by the court last month on a charge of unlawfully possessing a gun, as his firearms licence had been revoked.
Mr Robinson said Hore was unaware the man did not have a licence, although he should have checked.
The firearm was used responsibly and only a couple of shots were fired, he said.
Of the four people using guns, three of them, including Hore, had licences.
"It was not a situation where a person was given free rein of a firearm.
'The possibility of harm was quite remote.''
The offence was at the lowest end of the criminal scale, with a maximum penalty less than disorderly behaviour, Mr Robinson said.
Hore had shown remorse and had been co-operative with police since the incident.
A previous conviction in 2005 in which Hore was fined for killing a protected fur seal on the Otago coast was not considered during Thursday's sentencing, as it was not on police records.
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Advertise with NZME.That was because the prosecution was driven by the Department of Conservation, and it was on their records instead, the court heard.
