A Matakanui farmer hunting on his property at dusk had lined up a shot when a suspected poacher ran through his sights in what police are calling a ''near miss''.
''The farmer was stalking a deer and believed he was the only one hunting on the property and it was just on dusk, so there was low light,'' Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw, of the Central Otago CIB, said yesterday.
''He had his shot lined up, was alarmed to hear two gunshots nearby and then saw a guy, through his sights, run across his field of fire, between him and the deer. Given the two hunters literally crossed paths, with one unaware of the other, and in each other's potential field of fire, we'd certainly call it a near miss.''
Police are investigating. They had talked to the ''suspected poacher'' - a 30-year-old Alexandra man pig hunting on the farm.
The man was co-operative and police were looking into his claim he was allowed to hunt on the farm because he had an arrangement with the former owner of the property.
The farmer contacted police immediately after the incident, which happened on Saturday about 6.15pm.
