A West Coast man has been arrested after he set his dogs on pigs belonging to a person he believed owed him money.
The man went over to a rural property in Kaiata, near Greymouth, with his two dogs, believed to be staffordshire bull terriers, about 7am, Sergeant Brent Cook of Greymouth police said.
"It was payment for some work done three years ago and the [man] had got intoxicated and decided it was time to collect on his debt and went around there for a confrontation," Mr Cook told NZPA.
The man he went to see was out, so he confronted his partner.
The woman was scared by his behaviour and fled to call police, Mr Cook said.
After that the man set his dogs on pigs at the farm. The dogs mauled and killed four of them.
A 34-year-old man has been charged with burglary, cruelty to animals, threatening behaviour and driving with excess breath alcohol.
The dogs are with the dog control officer who was investigating, Mr Cook said.
NZPA