A Gisborne man has pleaded guilty to five charges of willfully ill treating an animal after he gave five kittens to his pitbull to kill.
Te Ahu Mankelow, 30, appeared in the Gisborne District Court on Monday morning, and was remanded on bail for sentencing on 19 February.
The court heard evidence from the SPCA that Mankelow was at a party in Gisborne in September when he saw the kittens in a cardboard box on the back of a truck.
Mankelow admits taking the kittens, which were six to 10 weeks old and still had their eyes closed, and tossing them to his pit bull dog one at a time.
When a couple struggled to get away, he tossed them back until all five were dead.
In allowing Mankelow bail, Judge Spear ruled that he should have no contact with any animal between now and his sentencing.
The SPCA wants for the maximum penalty of three years in prison for him. Chief executive Robyn Kippenberger says the association will also seek to ban Mankelow from having animals in the future.
