SPCA: Goat's slaying shows worsening abuse

File photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

The brutal death of a goat in New Plymouth is part of a rising tide of violence against animals, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says.

Animal control officer Lee-Ann Betts told the Taranaki Daily News the feral goat had its throat slashed with a blunt knife - a painful and cruel way to die.

The death followed an increase in animal cruelty in the area - the SPCA dealt with 148 complaints in 2006 but that had risen to 310 last year.

She blamed a change in societal attitudes, saying many kids came from dysfunctional backgrounds where parents had no control.

"They are abused themselves (and) it's just a cycle that is continuing and getting worse. We are dealing with the fallout from that," she told the newspaper.

- NZPA