20yo sentenced for being party to brutal stag killing

Spurred on by his mates Quinn Woodman drove his Hilux at speed towards a wild stag roaming a semi-urban street and hit the animal with enough force to severely injure it.

As the animal struggled for its life, in agony from its broken bones, Woodman’s friend Mackenzie Brewerton, then took a knife they had and slit the animal’s throat.

The “gratuitous and violent act”, which a judge said was carried out for their enjoyment, was then posted on social media to a Snapchat group named Nz Poaches (sic).

Videos of the abuse shared on social media received “significant negative attention” which likely led police to investigate, Judge Jo Rielly said.

Woodman and Brewerton appeared for sentence in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday. Brewerton’s was put off until next year to seek further reports, including one from a psychologist.

Woodman, who was charged as being a party to what happened, was described as the lead offender because he was the one who drove his vehicle at the animal, which was part of a mob of deer roaming Marsden Valley at 3am that morning.

He was sentenced to community detention and community work on charges of reckless ill-treatment of a wild animal, careless driving, unlawful hunting and obstructing police.

The latter charge arose from his efforts afterwards to encourage the removal of the videos and messages from social media, once he knew the police were investigating.

The 20-year-old strode from court to a mob of waiting friends, most of whom had been in court to support him, along with his parents and his employer.

In the early hours of March 30 this year, Woodman, Brewerton and two or three others, two of whom were aged 16, drove to Marsden Valley in a convoy of two vehicles.

The valley in suburban Nelson borders large tracts of native bush and features parks and reserves where feral deer are known to roam.

Woodman’s lawyer Tony Bamford said they had gone there to check pig traps they had set earlier and to check on some sheep.

He said what happened wasn’t intentional, but the result of “a brief, momentary decision,” triggered by the setting in of the “group mentality”.

The police summary of facts said the group went to the valley to use the vehicle to hunt deer.

Crown prosecutor Daniel Baxter, said it wasn’t accepted they were there to check pig traps.

“They travelled in convoy, cameras at the ready,” Baxter said.

He said they also had a knife ready, in case they needed to “finish off the animal”.

Woodman was in the lead, driving his Toyota Hilux. They agreed to head to Marsden Valley, where Woodman would “use his vehicle to try to hunt deer, by hitting them with it”.

They did not have permission from the Nelson City Council to hunt in this area, police said.

They came upon a mob of about eight deer on the road. Woodman accelerated heavily as others in the vehicle directed him towards the stag, shouting, “Stag in the middle” and “Go Go Go Go!” as the young female in the group filmed it on a cell phone.

The driver in the following vehicle, about 80 metres behind also filmed the incident on his cell phone, police said.

Baxter said this added a further layer to what was glorified offending.

Several deer ran off the road and Woodman slowed as he reached the remaining animals.

He then swerved towards the stag and struck it on the rear so hard it was thrown and spun three times before falling to the road, where it lay thrashing.

The 16-year-old female yelled “Whooowa!” as the deer was struck, and others yelled, “F**k’n got em!” before Woodman then yelled at them to get out of the ute.

As they did, the deer tried to get away but was unable to because of injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma, including broken bones.

The driver in the following vehicle got out, still filming, as Brewerton grabbed the stag’s antlers and with another person in the group restrained it before slitting its throat.

Judge Rielly said they had struck the animal, pinned it to the ground and killed it in a “somewhat premeditated” act.

Baxter said Woodman was facing the consequence of being charged under a new area of the law related to wild animals, under the Animal Welfare Act. He said the stag was in significant distress, having been hit by a ute at speed, thrown clear and hit the ground before being dragged to a fenceline where its throat was slit.

On April 4 the police spoke with Woodman, who then messaged the group, telling them to change the name of the Snapchat group and to delete the messages and videos.

Soon after the chat was renamed and unable to be located by police.

The police summary said many other videos were found on initial examination of the defendants chasing deer in a paddock with a vehicle, trying to hit other deer on Marsden Valley Road, and communication regarding the incident.

Judge Rielly said Bamford had highlighted factual matters the court needed to take into account, including that Woodman was a first-time offender.

It was accepted that he did not post the footage on social media.

Judge Rielly said his obstructing the police in their inquiry was also a reaction that stemmed from his immaturity as opposed to being intentional.

She said while Woodman had not received a formal diagnosis of having neurodiversity issues, it was reasonable to conclude this was behind his behaviour.

“This helps to explain why you would do something out of character, in that you are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure than others.”

Judge Rielly said it seemed he had been urged to behave in a way inconsistent with what he believed in.

“You like animals and you like working with them.”

She considered his remorse and shame genuine, in sentencing him from a starting point of one year in prison to six months of community detention, with a daily curfew from 8pm to 6am, plus 100 hours of community work.

Woodman was also encouraged to make a $500 donation to the SPCA or similar organisation that deals with the care of animals.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.