By Grace Crivellaro in Canberra

A man who tied a rope around a kangaroo’s neck and dragged it along the road later described the animals to police as vermin.

Michael Anthony Holmes was scheduled to face a defended hearing at Queanbeyan Local Court on Tuesday, but his matter was dealt with in a matter of minutes as he changed his plea to guilty.

The 61-year-old left court wearing a ski mask in a bid to cover his face.

He pleaded guilty to one count of committing an act of aggravated animal cruelty, while a charge of recklessly beating and causing prolonged suffering to an animal was withdrawn.

Tendered court documents state Holmes saw a female kangaroo lying down and struggling to get up on the fence-line of his rural property near Bywong, in the NSW Southern Tablelands region, about 7am on April 13.

Nine hours later, he tied a nylon rope around the animal’s neck and attached the other end to his vehicle before dragging it 400 metres down the road.

Holmes detached the rope, but left a fastened ligature around the kangaroo’s neck.

The animal was still alive but severely deformed when a woman discovered it and called a wildlife rescue organisation.

The kangaroo suffered severe lacerations to its rib and hip area, consistent with being dragged along a road, court documents state.

It died shortly after being taken by rescuers.

Police were called and inspected the embankment, finding tyre marks mixed with blood and rope at the scene.

Officers went to the home on the property and spoke to Holmes, who made full admissions to the offence and showed no remorse, documents state.

He told police he moved the animal so it “wouldn’t die on his property”, describing kangaroos generally as “complete vermin” and “jumping rats”.

“(Holmes’) actions caused the animal to be inflicted with pain resulting in deformity and the animal being so severely injured that it was cruel to be kept alive,” court documents state.

A photograph of the kangaroo showed the severity of the injuries, with a large portion of its fur stripped off its side.

Magistrate Roger Clisdell adjourned the matter to February 23 for sentencing and ordered a background report to further examine the circumstances surrounding the offending.

Holmes initially denied the offences when he first appeared in court in May.

Kangaroos are protected native animals and it is an offence under NSW biodiversity laws to harm or attempt to harm them without a licence.