Most vets see cases of cruelty to family pets

Veterinarians are seeing cases of deliberate animal abuse in their clinics - and 9 per cent of those surveyed say they deal with up to four cases a year.

A study carried out by Unitec in Auckland showed 63 per cent of responding veterinarians had seen cases of deliberate animal abuse in the past five years.

Study head and Unitec lecturer in animal welfare and ethics Dr Virginia Williams said the study was one of two. The second was investigating links between children abusing animals and family violence.

Links between animal abuse by children and later offending against humans have been shown in numerous overseas studies and the debate has again been raised in New Zealand following this week's sentencing of two Huntly teenagers, who burned cats alive.

Sahn Papa, 18, and Wirimu Karena, 17, were sentenced to nine months in jail when they appeared in the Huntly District Court on Wednesday.

On April 19 the pair poured solvent over three cats trapped in council cages and set them on fire.

Following the case it was revealed the sergeant who investigated the case, Blair Donaldson, had his family cat, Patsy, ripped in half and dumped outside the Huntly police station before the sentencing.

The pair have been described by president of the Auckland SPCA Bob Kerridge and Mr Donaldson as being on the fast track to hell.

Dr Williams said veterinarians who responded to the survey also said in 16 per cent of animal abuse cases, they knew of, or suspected, family violence among people who owned the animals they saw.

She said Papa and Karena's case showed the obvious signs, as detailed in all overseas studies, of young people committing crimes against animals and later going on to commit crime against humans.

"They're typically adolescent, male, in groups.

"This was very organised. This sort of incident is not unique in New Zealand or a world scale."

Sensible Sentencing is planning on lobbying the Government for a law change that will see all people who offend against animals forced to give a DNA sample for the national database.

Karena and Papa have given DNA samples following their sentencing.

Sensible Sentencing spokesman Garth McVicar said he had met Mr Kerridge from the SPCA and members of First Strike, an organisation set up to deal with links between animal abuse and other offending.

"We're trying to find a sympathetic lawyer who will help draft legislation and then we will take it to a politician or try and take it ourselves," Mr McVicar said.

While he was happy with the sentence Papa and Karena were given, he still believed judges needed to get sentences nearer the maximum three years available for aggravated cruelty to animals.

"Judges are going to have to step out of their comfort zone, make the sentence and then let the Court of Appeal decide."