Pet rabbits massacred

BY DIANA WORTHY

An appeal for public help is being launched after three pet rabbits were slain in an act of cruelty that has left animal welfare experts horrified.

Flemish Giant rabbits Panda, Boffy, and Cuddles belonged to the young children of island residents Paul and Joanne Walden.

Daughter Jemma woke her parents early on Friday morning to ask why the pets were lying in a row on the back lawn of their home in Seaview Road, Onetangi.

They should have been in two securely locked cages on each side of the house.

But one of the cages had been moved in the night to sit beside the other on the lawn near the now dead rabbits.

Mrs Walden had checked the pets at 11pm the previous evening and all were alive and secure.

Her children Jemma, 9, David, 7, and Jamie, 5, had owned two of the pets for more than a year, with Cuddles the latest addition at 10 weeks old.

An autopsy at the weekend showed all three rabbits had been severely attacked, with many broken bones and internal damage.

Long-time island resident Mr Walden says the attack now being investigated by police has left his family shocked and traumatised.

He says they cannot understand why the rabbits were slain and it has left them feeling unable to deal with what happened or resolve it.

"I don't think Joanne has slept since. The older children are devastated and the youngest one doesn't understand what's happened. They were too upset to go to school on Friday.

"I can't comprehend the whole thing."

Vet Dan Marincas and SPCA Waiheke branch manager Rochelle McIntyre agree with him.

Mr Marincas took X-rays and performed the post mortem, showing injuries that killed the rabbits were extensive, with many broken bones in the bodies.

He says one had been injured so badly its head was attached to the body by the skin alone, and the stomach contents of the baby rabbit were in its chest.

The animals also showed signs of having been pulled roughly from their cages, with missing fur and broken skin.

"It was quite horrible. It was a nasty job. In the last 20 years, I haven't seen anything like it.

"The X-rays and autopsy show the rabbits suffered severe trauma with the kind of injuries you normally find in road traffic accidents.

"They look like they have been stamped on or kicked," he says.

Ms McIntyre says it was an extreme act of cruelty and the Waiheke branch of the SPCA is keen to prosecute the offender.

"I've never seen anything like it before. It was horrid to see there were children affected.

"Who is capable of doing that? What kind of person would it take?" she says.

Now the branch is matching the $500 already offered by the Walden family and a neighbour for information leading to a successful prosecution.

It brings the total reward money, which will be administered by the SPCA, up to $1,000.

People with any information can call police on 372 1150.

Alternatively, call Rochelle McIntyre at the branch on 372 5222, cell phone 0275 395107, or at home on 372 3192.

Ms McIntyre says all calls will be treated in the strictest confidence.

- Waiheke Marketplace