Kitten-killer's owner jailed

A Gisborne man who fed five live kittens to his dog has been jailed for seven months.

Te Ahu Aaron Mankelow, 31, was sentenced in the Gisborne District Court yesterday after earlier admitting five counts of wilfully ill-treating an animal.

As well as the prison term, the judge banned Mankelow from owning or caring for animals for 10 years.

SPCA chief executive Robyn Kippenberger was disappointed at the sentence, describing Mankelow's actions as sick, heartless and utterly reprehensible.

On September 27 last year, Mankelow found a box containing the five kittens. With another person, he took the box and tipped the kittens out against the roots of a tree in a park.

One by one, his dog, known as PP, destroyed the kittens.

This was recorded on Mankelow's mobile phone, which a member of the public handed to the Gisborne SPCA.

The video clearly showed Mankelow's distinctively tattooed arm as he fed a kitten to his dog.

PP, trained to attack other animals, was unable to be rehomed by the SPCA and had to be euthanised.

- NZPA