A 23-year-old man who nearly starved his dog to death because he had lost interest in it has been banned from owning animals for five years and fined more than $850.

Papakura man Jared Kelly pleaded guilty in the Papakura District Court yesterday to the charge of ill-treating an animal.



In June last year an SPCA inspector found Kelly's dog, a boxer/staffordshire terrier cross chained up with no shelter.



The dog was so starved that its bones were clearly visible and it had no strength to bark. It was reported to have had a severe case of fleas, worms and overgrown claws as well as open sores on its front legs and rump.



Kelly told the SPCA that he had simply lost interest in the dog and had thought about getting it put down. He surrendered the dog to SPCA Auckland.



SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said it was a very sad case "where an animal who depended solely on his owner for attention and affection was chained up, with no food or shelter, simply because that owner had 'lost interest' and ignored his responsibilities."



Kerridge said losing interest did not give anyone the right to neglect an animal to starve to death.



"Unfortunately, the dog has since had to be humanely euthanised due to serious behaviour problems that meant we could not responsibly re-home him."



Kerridge said this was almost certainly the result of the neglect the dog had suffered.