By Emma Jolliff
The man who shot and killed another hunter in the Wairarapa at Easter has been jailed for nine months.
The judge said he hopes Christopher Dummer's prison sentence will serve as a warning to hunters to always positively identify their target.
Dummer is a former Wellington Deerstalkers' Association president and firearms instructor, and he killed 29-year-old Cam McDonald.
Six victim impact statements were read out in court.
His mother, Cyndy McDonald, says she will have to deal with the loss for the rest of her life.
“To lose a child you also lose your spirit, strength, vision, personality and confidence. I have been given a life sentence of heartache, insecurity and anxiety,” she says.
Mr McDonald’s father Ranald also spoke.
“I think of cam lying in the bush, dead, and not returning home,” he says
And Mr McDonald was recalled by his brother Jonathan.
“He was my best mate, he was my guardian, he was always happy to help me, he was who I looked up.”
But Mr McDonald, who was wearing a blaze orange safety beanie, was shot in the head by Dummer from 16 metres away when Dummer mistook his hat for a deer.
“This was not a case of a young and inexperienced hunter being overcome by the excitement and adrenaline of a hunt,” says Judge Hobbs.
A 54-year-old father of five, Dummer had been hunting for 25 years.
The McDonald family is grateful he's been jailed, saying he broke every rule he taught and knew.
Dummer's family wasn't commenting on the sentence, but his lawyer says he'll appeal it.
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