Bunny beheader may be using sat-images

A serial killer, who beheads rabbits then drains their blood, may have used digital satellite images to locate the victims.

Fear is rife among rabbit owners in Germany after the death of 30 rabbits in the towns of Witten and Dortmund since last summer, the BBC reported.

Elfriede Dumont, 74, recalled one morning when she came out to feed her rabbits.

"I looked inside and saw Rocco just lying there. His head was missing."

Police say they have no clue as to who is decapitating the rabbits or why.

Officer Volker Schuette said a gruesome pattern was emerging.

"Detectives find the rabbit lying dead in a hutch. An unknown person has cut off the head and drained off the blood in a box or a bottle. So we find no blood and no head."

Police are unsure how the killer has been locating his victims as most of the decapitated pets were hidden from public view in back gardens.

This has lead to speculation the killer has been using satellite images from the internet to find houses with rabbit hutches.

A special taskforce has been set up to track down the killer, amid police concern the attacker could switch from killing rabbits to killing people.

- © Fairfax NZ News