Two men are facing charges from both the SPCA and police over what was labelled a mass slaughter of dogs north of Auckland.
The SPCA has formally laid charges at the Warkworth District Court relating to seven dogs, for which it says post-mortems showed considerable distress.
It has not said how many charges have been laid.
A total of 33 dogs were killed near Wellsford on 26 January, in a shooting that horrified SPCA investigators.
The SPCA says post-mortems completed on 13 of the dogs indicated they suffered considerable distress and pain over an unacceptable period of time.
Police say one man faces charges of careless use of a firearm and the other unlicenced use of a firearm.
One of the men claims the owner of the dogs, Rowan Hargreaves, gave permission for the dogs to be destroyed after one or more fatally mauled his own fox terrier.
His lawyer was unaware of the charges being laid until told by Radio New Zealand.
