A proud father says he isn't worried by critics upset at photographs of his eight-year-old daughter taking a bite out of a deer's heart after her first successful hunt.

Johnny Yuile​ and his daughter went hunting on a friend's bush block the Hawke's Bay, earlier this month.

Yuile - a New Zealand police constable - said he has been hunting with his daughter since she was a toddler and when she was little he'd strap her to a front-pack during bush missions.

Supplied Hawke's Bay father Johnny Yuile and his daughter have been hunting together since she was a toddler.

His daughter, using her dad's Remington 7mm-08 rifle, shot a young stag from 40 metres.

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Supplied Yuile's daughter shot her first deer at Makapua Station in Hawke's Bay.

He sent a couple of photographs online to a Facebook page, showing a smiling father and daughter beside the stag and his daughter taking a bite from the deer's heart. For many people, tasting a freshly killed animal, whether it's by taking a bite or drinking blood, is part of hunting.

Yuile said he hunts for meat for his family.

"She made tricky downhill shot using my shoulder as a leaning rest and shot with dads 7 mm-08 at about 40m. Then she took a bite from its warm quivering heart," a Facebook post said.

The Facebook page quickly attracted "haters" who criticised Yuile for taking his daughter hunting at such a young age, branded the hunt "sadistic" and wrongly accused the pair of killing an animal for sport.

Yuile said the pair were hunting at a friend's place.

First time hunters often spend time at the station and hundreds of people have shot their first deer there, he said.

"This is just the first time she has shot a deer. She's been coming out with me since she was eight months' old with a front pack.

'"She loved it.

"There was a bit of walking for her. We stayed the night and got up early and hunted most of the day."

His daughter said she thought her first deer hunt was really cool.

"I thought it was really cool because I like hunting with my dad and we can get some meat for my family.

"I like crumbed meat."

She said she first saw an uncle taking a bite from a deer heart.

"I saw my uncle bite the heart so I thought I might bite it too.

"It tasted quite nice."

​Yuile said he understood some people did not agree with hunting but he was particular about firearm safety and only hunted for meat. A major part of a hunting trip was spending time with his daughter, he said.

Perhaps objectors did not grow up around hunting as his daughter was keen to learn and hunt, he said.

"As soon as she was able to go out and walk she has been keen as. I've other kids and they're all keen as to go hunting.

"We've been on hunts, all of us, before.

"Safety is the important thing. I carry the firearm because it's a bit too heavy for her. I ran her through the seven basic rules and taught her about safety."