Teen charged with killing seal

A Kaikoura teenager has been charged over the death of a seal after two fur seals were fired at with a paint-ball gun and one was run over with a vehicle.

Hayden John Ingram, 17, entered no plea in Blenheim District Court today to charges of killing a seal without authority, possessing a paintball gun and driving with sustained loss of traction, the Marlborough Express reported.

The bloodied corpses of an adult New Zealand fur seal and a pup from the Kaikoura peninsula seal colony were found on Friday night.

Police said Ingram was believed to have driven over one seal while doing burnouts on the road and a grassy area by the seal colony at Point Kean.

They said multiple reports of the attack suggested both seals had been hit with objects from a paint-ball gun.

Ingram will appear again in Kaikoura District Court on July 16.

- NZPA