Wellington, Jan 25 (DPA) A New Zealand man admitted in court Monday to tossing five kittens to his pit bull dog to kill.

Te Ahu Mankelow, 30, pleaded guilty in the Gisborne District Court to five charges of wilfully ill treating an animal in September.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which brought the charges, told the court that Mankelow took the 6-to-10-week-old kittens from a cardboard box on the back of a truck at a party.

He tossed the animals, which still had their eyes closed, to his pit bull dog one at a time and when a couple struggled to get away, he threw them back until they were all dead, Radio New Zealand reported.

Mankelow was remanded for sentence on Feb 19, with the judge allowing bail on condition that he did not have contact with any animal.