Arrest after man cuts brother's dog's throat

The incident is believed to have occurred on Hillcrest Rd in Kaikohe, though the alleged offender is from Auckland.

Warning: Some readers may find this article distressing

An Auckland man has been charged with ill-treating an animal after cutting his brother's dog's throat while visiting family in Kaikohe.

The incident occurred about 2pm on Monday when the brothers, one living in Auckland, the other in Kerikeri, were visiting their grandmother.

An argument started between the brothers because one of them hadn't been to court when he was supposed to. The Auckland brother then told the Kerikeri brother to leave or he would kill his dog.

When he refused to go his brother took a knife and killed the dog by cutting its throat. The pair then got into a physical fight.

Acting Senior Sergeant Dylan Robinson, of Kaikohe police, said a 20-year-old Auckland man had been arrested and held in custody overnight.

Police opposed bail when he appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on Tuesday charged with cruelty/ill-treatment of an animal, common assault, threatening behaviour and wilful damage.

In some cases animal cruelty prosecutions were left to the SPCA but in this case police were prosecuting because the offender faced several other charges as well, Mr Robinson said.

The dog was understood to be a "lovely" whippet-labrador cross.

The maximum penalty for wilful ill-treatment of an animal is five years' jail or a fine of $100,000.