Intoxicated man taken into custody along with his 'scapegoats' in Picton

The hilarious moment on Auckland St, where the man was taken into custody by police around 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Photos / Supplied

Picton residents and tourists were treated to an unusual sight last weekend when an Intoxicated man was taken into custody by police, along with his four goats.

Mike, a tourist who only wanted his first name published, captured the hilarious moment on Auckland St where the man was taken into custody by police around 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon.

He shared the bizarre photo on social media of the goats being led away by police, saying in the caption that this type of thing happens "only in New Zealand".

The Picton visitor told the Herald that he saw a man who looked like he was homeless at the pier with a few alcoholic drinks beside him on Sunday morning, along with the goats.

"He had a few drinks on him in the morning that he had over the next few hours and was pretty drunk by the afternoon," Mike explained.

"He fell asleep on the ground with the goats untied, so that's when somebody called the police."

When police arrived, Mike said they tied the goats to a pole before sorting out the man. Police then used the man's leash to take the goats away.

Many on social media came up with clever puns to describe the incident.

"I think you might be jumping to conclusions - it could be a frame-up ... they might be scapegoats," one person hilariously wrote.

"You're kidding, right?", someone sarcastically asked, playing on the fact young goats are called kids.

"How dare ewe," another person responded.

One person came up with a "punny" headline: "Cop saves three kids from drowning."

A police spokesperson told the Herald that they "received a report of an intoxicated man lying on the ground on Auckland St in Picton about 2.10pm on Sunday, 6 January."

"There were four goats with the man. Police attended and took him into custody to detox."

However, the spokesperson had no information about what happened with the goats.