Three dogs mauled over 40 sheep on a central Rotorua farm on Thursday afternoon, causing more than $10,000 worth of damage.
Rotorua District Council animal control supervisor Kevin Coutts says the dogs killed almost half the flock of mostly pregnant ewes.
One of the dogs, a labrador cross, that was shot by animal control officers, had an identification tag on its collar.
But the other two dogs, which appeared to be a mastiff cross and a huntaway cross, escaped.
Mr Coutts says legal action will be taken against the owner of the dog that was shot, and that person would be charged under the Dog Control Act.
He says animal control officers took photos of the two missing dogs and he hopes they, and their owners, will be identified and charged in coming days.
