The Central Otago farmer whose land is at the centre of allegations of poaching by an out-of-town police officer said he was told by police that more than one officer was in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
Otago Lakes Inspector Olaf Jensen told the Central Otago and Lakes district newspaper The News, he could not confirm the occupations of those involved.
However, the farmer, who prefers to remain anonymous, said Insp Jensen told him more than one officer was involved.
The farmer said he had contacted Insp Jensen earlier this month to ask about the investigation into the alleged poaching.
The farmer had found a vehicle full of people, including an out-of-town police officer, spotlighting on to his Central Otago property on January 21.
The farmer said Insp Jensen told him the "officers'' were still being investigated. The farmer, who thought there was only one police officer in the vehicle, said he then asked Insp Jensen if there was more than one police officer in the vehicle, to which Insp Jensen replied "yes''.
When contacted by The News, Insp Jensen would not confirm the occupation of the people being investigated.
"Police can confirm there were three men and one female in the vehicle at the time of the incident,'' he said.
"As a general rule, police do not disclose the occupation of persons involved in criminal investigations as these details may become subject to suppression orders in a potential court case.''
The farmer said he had felt fobbed off by police since reporting the incident, having initially been told the officer would not be charged and then only being told the incident was being investigated after media inquiries into the issue began.
The farmer and another farmer in the district say they are concerned about the length of time the investigation is taking and also the possibility of a double standard being applied if any officers involved are not prosecuted, especially given Central Otago police have previously been outspoken about wanting to clamp down on poaching in the district.
When asked why the investigation was taking so long, Insp Jensen said: "This matter is the subject of a number of investigations, including by police and other parties.
"A number of inquiries being made are waiting on the outcome of the other investigations and this is causing the length of the investigation.''
The out-of-town officer is also being investigated for alleged poaching on a Department of Conservation (Doc) block near the farmer's property on the same evening as the alleged spotlighting on the farmer's land.
The farmer said the officer admitted in front of him to having been spotlighting on the Doc block. Spotlighting on Doc blocks is illegal, and permits are required for all hunting on Doc land.
Doc Central Otago area manager Mike Tubbs said in May a Doc investigation into the incident was under way.
Mr Tubbs was unavailable for comment this week. A Doc spokeswoman said the department had "received no update from police''.
When asked if Doc was conducting its own investigation or if it was police who were investigating, the spokeswoman said she had no further information and could not comment.
Insp Jensen said the inquiry was being conducted jointly by police and Doc.
Asked why police were not laying charges according to the Act, Insp Jensen said: "In this case, multiple inquiries by a number of parties has resulted in the investigation taking longer than normal.
"Some of the police investigation relies on the results of investigations by other parties and this is causing the delay.
"However, police will have an outcome to our investigation before the required timeframe under the Wild Animal Control Act.''
Insp Jensen confirmed there was a 12-month statute of limitations for laying any charge under the Act.
