Concern over serial animal abuser

Jason Blair, animal welfare inspector with the Tauranga SPCA, holds the 8-week-old pitbull puppy that was found in Tauranga with its ears cut off. Photo / Alan Gibson

Tauranga residents are concerned they are dealing with a serial animal abuser after a kitten was violently thrown against a door and killed this morning - the third horrific act of animal cruelty in the city in a month.

On Monday, a three-year-old dog died when its pen was doused in petrol and set alight, and about two weeks ago a puppy's ears were severed with a pair of scissors.

In the latest incident, a two-month-old kitten was this morning sleeping on the door step of its owner's home in suburban Gate Pa when it was grabbed and thrown against the front door, killing it instantly.

Its owner, Shankar Kanthan, told NZPA someone had thrown flowers on its bloodied body.

"It looks like someone squashed my cat and smashed it on the wall, I've got blood on my wall.

"It must be some psycho people who do that, eh? Because they killed the cat and then threw flowers on its body."

The kitten's mother had run away "because she is so sad" and could not be found, Mr Kanthan said.

"And two weeks ago, just down the hill, they cut off that dog's ears and then the same thing happened at my home this morning.

"I'm very angry. It's not good, brother, because the guy can do it again and again to other animals."

The eight-week-old puppy, which has been nicknamed Trooper, was "a particularly abhorrent example of animal cruelty", Tauranga Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA) Inspector Jason Blair said last week.

The SPCA was continuing its inquiries to find those responsible. A $1000 reward has been offered for information which leads to a successful prosecution of the offenders.

On Monday, in the Bethlehem area of Tauranga, a dogue de Bordeaux named Atlas was killed when its pen was doused in petrol and set alight.

Tauranga police Acting Senior Sergeant Wayne Lambert said it was likely a stand-alone attack but the other two incidents could be connected.

"They may be related because they're in a similar area or they might be a copycat-type incidents - or they could be completely separate - it's very hard to know."

Mr Lambert said pet owners in the area should keep their animals indoors or "in a secure location".

The offender or offenders could face up to five years imprisonment or a $100,000 fine if convicted.

- NZPA