Illegal stag kill earns community work

A man who illegally hunted a stag was told he could hunt on a property in that area, but not that one, his lawyer says.

"My instructions are the defendant did have express permission to be on a property up there but not that one - obviously he took the liberty too far," defence lawyer Anna Brosnahan said.

Peter Raymond Rendell was on a rural property to hunt, though he did not know the owner of the property and did not have permission to be there.

The location of the property was not disclosed in court.

After "locating a suitable animal", Rendell fired one shot, killing the deer, police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Butler said on Tuesday in the Whanganui District Court.

Locals notified the police, who found Rendell a short time later as he was driving through the city limits.

They found a rifle in his car, and discovered he had no firearms licence and had never held a firearms licence in the past.

Rendell told police he wanted "deer for the freezer".

He pleaded guilty to unlawful hunting and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Judge Philip Crayton sentenced him to 110 hours of community work.