Pensioner Found Guilty

Last Wednesday, 70-year-old Sutcliffe, from Greenfields, was given a 12-month conditional discharge, due to previous good character, ordered to pay 500 costs and was disqualified from keeping rabbits for five years.

Summing up, chairman of the bench David Harmston said: "It should have been obvious to a very experienced keeper of rabbits, that both animals were seriously ill and in pain and in need of immediate attention, notwithstanding their age. This was not sought until it was too late."

The RSPCA decided to prosecute Mr Sutcliffe after he had brought two seriously ill rabbits he had owned for seven years, into the Mount Noddy animal rescue centre in Eartham on June 10, for re-homing.

The court heard how staff at the centre were unable to help Mr Sutcliffe, but offered to pay for the rabbits to be seen by a vet, as Mr Sutcliffe said he couldn't afford it.

Veterinary surgeon Andrew Vawer told the court the rabbits were in such a bad state when he saw them later that day, he had no choice but to put them down.

"Due to the extent of the problems the rabbits were exhibiting, treatment was very unlikely to be successful," he explained.

He talked through each of the rabbits' ailments, starting with the brown lop-eared Smokey, while magistrates were shown pictures, taken after the animals had been put down.

The court was told Smokey's mouth and chin were thickened and ulcerated, both sides of his face had abcesses, caused by infections of the tear duct. One of the abcesses had burst, and was oozing. Smokey's left hock joint was swollen to three times its normal size, and was infected. He also had overgrown teeth and claws, and had suffered hair loss. In Mr Vawer's opinion, this condition would have taken at least a month to develop.

The black-and-white, Barney, had also suffered hair loss and the skin was bright pink and inflamed with scratch wounds. Barney's scrotum was massively enlarged, which the vet said would have caused great pain and discomfort, and he had arthritis in his left rear leg. Mr Vawer said this condition would have taken a minimum of one week to develop.

Beverley Cherrill, defending, said: "We have heard the vet say owners should check their pets over twice a day."

Sutcliffe replied: "I wouldn't even check a baby out twice a day."

Sutcliffe maintained he had done everything he could, and said he couldn't afford the vet bills, which is why he sought help from the RSPCA.

David Buck, prosecuting, said: "Can I suggest to you that it would take an awful lot to get concerned about those rabbits, because you didn't seem to be concerned about the clinical problems affecting them?"

"That's your opinion. I can't see that I could have done much more," Sutcliffe replied.