CONVICTED (2019) | Sarah Hird, born 1984, previous of Shildon Street, Darlington and more recently Ketton Ave, Darlington – left a pet rabbit to live without adequate shelter amongst dirty nappies and household waste in the garden
Sarah Hird’s unnamed pet rabbit was found living in disgusting conditions in a garden filled with discarded rubbish. The little bunny was soaking wet and suffering from painful urine scald, matted fur and untreated digestion problems.
The court heard that Hird’s partner told an RSPCA inspector to “fuck off” when he said the living conditions weren’t good enough for the pet.
Kevin Campbell, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: “The investigator called at the address and the door was opened by a man.
“He said he got a shock at the amount of waste and rubbish piled up in the yard and in the corner was a small brown rabbit, soaking wet and without shelter.
“He explained the living conditions were unsuitable and there was an unfortunate exchange where he was told to ‘fuck off out of my house’.
The inspector took the rabbit and he was examined by a veterinary surgeon.
Mr Campbell added: “The vet who examined the rabbit said it was covered in urine scald and had matted fur, the rabbit’s skin was red raw, very painful and it was similar to nappy rash.
“She went on to identify other issues in the rabbit, its digestion system was not working properly. It needs to be working all the time or they become very unwell and die very quickly.
“The hutch was nowhere near good enough, and meant no protection from the extremes of the weather or predators.”
Hird, who was unrepresented in court, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.
Sentencing | ordered to pay a total of £456. Banned from keeping rabbits for five years (expires October 2024).