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A great white shark that died on a beach in New Zealand was dragged ashore and beaten to death by a mob of men, witnesses are claiming.

The 9-foot-long animal was spotted on Thursday afternoon, seemingly stranded in the shallows of Orewa Beach on Auckland's Hibiscus Coast.

While it was assumed to have beached itself, there are now reports the female shark was purposefully caught - a serious crime under New Zealand law.

A source told Stuff a group of men "purposefully caught [the shark] in a net" and pulled it ashore, before they "repeatedly kicked it, damaged its jaw and took photos next to the dying animal, while laughing".

They claim when other people tried to intervene and help the shark, the group became "exceptionally intimidating".

Another witness told Newshub she heard the group saying they intended to take the animal home and eat it.

A police spokesman confirmed they had received reports of people kicking the shark.

Officers arrived on the scene soon afterwards to help lifeguards disperse the crowd that had gathered before trying to pull the shark back into the ocean.

Sadly, by then the shark was already dead. Its body will now be used for scientific research.

Great white sharks are considered a 'vulnerable' species as their numbers have shrunk due to overfishing.

There are only around 5000 great whites left in New Zealand waters, and it's illegal to deliberately catch or harm one.

Offenders can be fined up to $250,000 (£127,000) and could be jailed for up to six months.