If you're trying to source homekill this Christmas, be wary of where it comes from.

It's illegal to sell homekill - but it seems some people are trying to get a return on it by offering it on social media pages, for a fee.

Only family members and farm workers are allowed to consume it, and it can't be bought.

Animal Game Council chair Don Hammond told Rachel Smalley it's about hygiene standards, especially in the summer.

"You don't have to be a hunter or a fisherman to know that in this kind of hot, humid weather, food goes off very, very quickly as soon as it comes out of the fridge."

READ MORE: Rachel Smalley: ACC is being an ASS

Hammond said that people buying or receiving homekill from strangers have no guarantee where the meat has come from.

"You can't have confidence in the fact that it's been looked after properly, that's it's been treated hygienically, that it's been kept chilled, and the site where it's been processed has been scrupulously cleaned."

Hayward said you can only share homekill from your farm with your own family.

The warning comes after a Waikato family was struck down with botulism after eating a wild boar.

Husband and wife Shibu Kochummen, 35, and Subi Babu, 32, and Kochummen's 62-year-old mother, Alekutty Daniel, fell ill in mid November after eating the contaminated meat. All three were in comas for several weeks before waking up earlier this month.

The family is now facing a huge bill, as ACC does not cover the accidental ingestion of bacteria.

LISTEN TO DON HAMMOND TALK WITH RACHEL SMALLEY ABOVE