Man who fed kittens to pitbull 'an animal lover'

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.

You have to wonder why anyone would record themselves doing this... hello?!~

And he's a father... oh boy!

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

My question is... did he put the recording on You Tube? Did he think that others would find this funny?

The dog has since been put down. Why? He pays for the crimes of his human owner?

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

Chained dog! well.. that explains things

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.

Oh, come on!

"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.

Why? because that's cruel?

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

He's sorry he got caught!

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. MORE>>