A woman has been banned from keeping from animals for five years following a prosecution by the RSPCA.
Natasha Parsons of Cranley Road, Oxford, appeared before Oxford Magistrates' Court on Friday 28 May for sentence, after she pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing unnecessary suffering to two rabbits. She was fined £150 and also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.
The court was told that the RSPCA had removed two dead rabbits from her home in October last year, after the charity was contacted by the police. The rabbit's bodies were decomposing and had maggots on them. RSPCA inspector Kirsty Hamtpon who attended said the rabbits were found in a hutch with no bedding, and there was a bowl half full of dirty yellow water and no food.
Both rabbits were extremely underweight, their hips and spines were prominent and there was no fat on either side. A vet who examined the rabbits said they were emaciated and had almost no fat reserves. Parsons had admitted in interview that the rabbits had been forgotten about.
Speaking after the case inspector Hampton, said:
"Unfortunately it seems these rabbits were just left forgotten in the garden.
"Domestic rabbits are very vulnerable and cannot fend for themselves, and we would urge all pet owners to ensure that if they do own rabbits to ensure that they are always fed, watered and cleaned out on a regular basis." |
