Man kills pet rabbit after being bitten by it

A man who killed a pet rabbit after claiming it had bitten him has been given a suspended prison sentence and banned from owning animals for 10 years.

Andrew West was caught on hidden camera at a home in Sheffield picking up the grey, floppy-eared rabbit by the scruff of its neck and throwing the animal forcefully to the ground.

The city’s magistrates’ court heard that the 30-year-old was interviewed by the RSPCA and immediately admitted the offence. In mitigation, they were told he suffered from severe ADHD and was not taking his medication at the time.

A vet said it was “one of the most disturbing cases of violence” he had ever seen.

The disturbing images, captured from the bedroom of a house in Adrian Crescent, Sheffield, on August 29, 2023, were passed to the RSPCA, who then launched an investigation.

At a sentencing hearing, Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard that RSPCA officers, accompanied by police, went to the property on August 31 last year after several video clips were passed on to the charity.

In one of them, West can be seen grabbing his pet named Milo and telling him, “You’re never going to hurt me again, understand?”

Other footage showed the rabbit, which was not his, being thrown to the ground by West before being found dead a short time later.

The court heard that when the RSPCA asked him why he was heard in one of the video clips saying: “Oh yeah, you’re going to get a spanking”, he said it meant he wanted to hurt Milo because he was angry at the rabbit for biting him, but had not intended to kill him.

‘Extremely cruel’

In mitigation, two references provided to the court attested to his “gentle personality” and “love of animals.”

At a sentencing hearing at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on July 26, he was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty at a previous hearing to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

A post-mortem report indicated that the rabbit was suffering from a brain infection called E. cuniculi, a common infection in rabbits that can, in some cases, lead to seizures or death.

A vet who watched the video and provided written evidence in the case said: “Regardless of the post-mortem findings, we can safely say that the individual in the footage was extremely cruel and violent towards Milo.

“Through his callous actions, he has blatantly caused much unnecessary pain, stress, fear and suffering.

“This is one of the most disturbing cases of violence against a defenseless animal that I have had the misfortune to witness.”