Man, 18, jailed for cruelty to goat

An 18-year-old has been jailed for two years after dragging a goat tied to the back of his car along the road until it died.

Kurt Sharp, 18, pleaded guilty to a charge of wilful ill-treatment of an animal causing death, as well as a raft of burglary charges.

Barrister Jo Wickliffe, acting on behalf of the police, asked for a jail sentence for Sharp because of the pre-meditated nature of the cruelty.

Judge Roy Wade, in the Pukekohe District Court yesterday, sentenced Sharp to two years' imprisonment. He said that a lighter sentence of home detention would send the wrong message.

Sharp tethered the goat to the towbar of a car in Waiuku, forcing it to run behind it. When the goat could no longer run, the animal was dragged behind the vehicle for about 2km.