An Auckland man who slit the throat of his flatmate's puppy has been jailed for more than two years.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Micha Brotherston was sentenced in the North Shore District Court, after he was convicted of ill-treatment and ill-treatment of an animal.
As well as a 26-month jail term, he has been disqualified from owning animals for seven years.
It's the longest prison sentence ever handed down for an SPCA prosecution.
The SPCA said Brotherston slit the throat of the 10-month old Kelpie cross puppy, named Turbo, after he accused his flatmates of stealing his property and ordered them to leave.
One of the flatmates interrupted him while he was cutting the throat of a second dog, a bullterrier cross named Nova.
The SPCA said the cut to Turbo's throat had gone through the skin, wind pipe, oesophagus, lateral neck muscles and associated structures of the deep muscle of the spine.
A veterinarian concluded that Turbo experienced serious pain and distress before he died.
Nova was transported immediately to a veterinarian, and survived her injuries.
She was given pain relief and the wound was closed with staples, with a follow up of antibiotics for five days afterwards.
"A crime of this nature against an animal is unfathomable," SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said.
"There is a proven correlation between violence against animals and violence against people, and thus, this sort of crime is particularly horrendous."