Man who fed kittens to pitbull 'an animal lover'

A pitbull caged in a dog pound. Herald file photo

A man who fed live kittens to his pitbull claims he is "an animal lover".

But SPCA national chief inspector Charles Cadwallader says Te Ahu Aaron Mankelow is "lying his teeth off".

The incident, which was videoed on a cellphone, happened at a party in Gisborne last year.

Mankelow, 31, eventually pleaded guilty in Gisborne District Court on January 25 to five charges of wilful cruelty to animals after he recorded himself on a cellphone tipping out five kittens from a box for his dog, and urging his dog to eat them.

The charges of wilful cruelty were brought by the SPCA and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Mankelow was remanded at large on bail. Judge Robert Spear imposed a condition that he reside at an Elgin address and have no association with any animal until February 19, when he will appear again for sentencing.

Calling for a pre-sentence report, Judge Spear warned Mankelow that although community or home detention was a possibility, he could not rule out prison. This depended on the judge on the day.

But in an interview with the Sunday News, published today, Mankelow said he loved cats.

"I love all animals big time. Anyone who knows me knows I love animals," he said.

Father-of-three Mankelow claimed the killings were an accident and he simply admitted the SPCA's version of events in the hope he'd be punished and his dog's life would be spared.

The dog has since been put down.

He said after being told his dog was off its chain he discovered it had savaged several of the kittens.

Mankelow said he fed one kitten to his dog because it was almost dead and he didn't have the strength to finish it off himself.

"It might sound stupid but I just thought it would be faster my dog would just finish it off.

"I didn't want to pick it up or whack it on the head.

"I'm sorry for what's happened, I'm sorry to all the animal lovers," he said.

Mr Cadwallader said Mankelow was "lying his teeth off" and the cellphone video clearly showed Mankelow feeding at least four of the cats to his dog.

"One after another they're (the kittens) given to the dog. The video is almost two minutes long and you can hear the kittens screaming until they're all gone," Mr Cadwallader told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, in other animal-cruelty news, the SPCA is looking into crayfish-catching machines which have been popping up in bars around Auckland.

The machines are modeled on the arcade games which use a metal claw to grab soft toys. Winners of the $3 game can either have the animal killed and cooked by the establishment, or take the live cray home in a plastic bag.

SPCA spokesman Bob Kerridge says an investigation into whether the animals suffer in the games is nearly complete.

A Facebook group campaigning against the games is organising a rally which will take place in Auckland's CBD tomorrow outside a bar which has one of the machines.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB