CONVICTED (2022) | Daniel Gilmore, born c. 1971, of 106 Pensyflog, Porthmadog LL49 9LB – goaded his dog into chasing and attacking a terrified domestic rabbit, which was then killed.
Gilmore, a traveller, was given a suspended prison sentence after releasing a white rabbit before letting a dog chase it. He then posted a video of the chase on Facebook after he had killed the rabbit.
He was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal after a trial.
Prosecutor Diane Williams told the court Gilmore released the rabbit from his hand then released a dog and posted a video of the chase on the Facebook page Bedlington Whippets. She said the protected animal was “the kind of animal commonly domesticated in the British Isles and that’s a white rabbit”.
Its white pelt and shape indicated it was a domesticated rabbit and therefore protected. It was not an albino.
But Gilmore’s lawyer, Michael Strain of Strain and Company, said, said it was an “unusual set of circumstances”.
He said his client, a self-employed scrap merchant who “comes from travelling stock”, had never been in trouble in 50 years.
He said rabbits destroy hedgerows and cause other problems and can be caught legally. Farmers pay people to dispose of rabbits and keep them under control, he added.
Strain said the white rabbit in this case “may have been domesticated at one time” but escaped and was “effectively wild”. Gilmore took it from the dog and twisted its neck which was legal, he argued.
Strain added: “Mr Gilmore has not caused it unnecessary suffering. He has just done the wrong thing because the rabbit is white.
“He has not gone out to be cruel. He has not caused the rabbit any additional suffering he would normally cause a brown rabbit.”
Sentencing | 12-week jail term, suspended for 12 months. Ordered to pay £740 court costs and £128 surcharge.
Another Mentally Disturbed Scum.
Bit Of Work The Scum Wants.
He wouldn’t have the energy to go out catching Rabbits.
He won’t have no luck for what he has been up to before he was caught.