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.
