'Bunnies should be out socialising': Schoolgirl reduced to tears after animal rights activist steals rabbit and leaves taunting note

A schoolgirl burst into tears after an animal rights protester sneaked into her back garden stole her pet rabbit and left a note sneering: 'Bunnies should be out socialising.'

Kiera Bailey, 13, and her younger brother Harry, 10, woke to discover that Barney the nine-year-old rabbit had been taken from his hutch at their home in Darwen, Lancashire.

On top of the hutch was an A4 plastic sleeve containing a small, handwritten note, saying: 'This is animal cruelty. Rabbits should not be left in hutches, they should be out in the wild and socialising.'

-Heartbroken Harry and Kiera Bailey show the hutch where they kept their pet rabbit, Barney. The bunny was released by an animal rights activist-

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-Kiera and Harry's beloved pet rabbit, Harry, who was released by a protester-

But today Kiera's father Oliver, 38, said: 'My children are heartbroken. I've had nothing but tears.'

'They are absolutely horrified. They love the rabbit and play with him every day. He is taken to the vets regularly and gets the best possible treatment.'

'We bought Barney for Kiera when she cut her eye in reception ****and wanted a rabbit to make her feel better.

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-The note left by a cruel animal rights activist who released the children's pet-

'We are just heartbroken to be accused of animal cruelty to a pet rabbit we love dearly. My kids are asking me why would someone do this to us when we love him so much?'

Mr Bailey had seen Barney in his hutch on Thursday night, but spotted the note from his bedroom window weighted down by a stone the following Friday morning.

'It must be a nutter,' he added. 'We live very close to woods and someone must have seen him in our back garden. But if they let him out into the woods he will die because he's tame.'

'If they've let him out into the wild it will have the opposite effect of what they have intended. If they've still got him we'd really like him back.

'We've also got a couple of dogs and goldfish. What would they have us do, put the fish in the reservoir and let the dogs run loose?'

Leaflets appealing for the safe return of the rabbit were put up in the local pub and Mr Bailey has asked neighbours to keep watch.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police confirmed they had received a report of a stolen rabbit and a note about 'animal cruelty'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1294014/Deluded-animal-rights-protestor-lets-childrens-pet-rabbit-loose.html#ixzz0tTiSPBg6

I personally find this sick. The animal was bred to be a pet. Crazy PETA.

Wow, Gotta' love those Activists.

Bah, those animal rights savages probably threw the pet bunny out into the wild were it'd get mauled to death by feral cats and whatnot.

The rabbit is good as dead.

What a douchebag, surely he is just the psycho neighborn...

I hope this bunny socializes and grows up to be a communicative young...man? :?

Wow, I feel sorry for both the bunny and the girl.

So why don't these activist go help people instead and stop wasting everyone's time doing unnecessary crimes and endangering the animal by putting it in the wild? These people are so counter productive to their own cause...

Wait is the pets name Barney or Harry? It switched between names right in the middle of it...swaggafied

The rabbit is Barney. Looks like they made a typo in their report.

First time I'm on the side of the activists.Osaka-06

How come?

The bunny will be keepreproducing and eventual ate all our food.

Hmm hard to say what's right. It might not survive in the wild but that cage seems pretty simple and small not to mention bunnies are supposed to be at least two. Heck, in Sweden it's LAW that certain animals such as bunnies must be kept at least with one other bunny.

[QUOTE="Osaka-06"]First time I'm on the side of the activists.SideSwipes

How come?

Because that girl was obviously torturing the poor bunny rabbit to death. She should have you know gave it to PETA who are so responsible that they kill almost every animal they receive.

That guy's a right dick. There's no way that rabbit will survive in the wild. When I was young, our rabbit escaped and was found dead the next day.

Poor kids.

The rabbit's probably going to have a worse time in the wild, given that it was protected from predators in the cage. That animal rights activist has no sense.EJ902

At least now he can meet a lady rabbit and make little bunnys and be happy forever with his new found family!

Never though about this? Sure they took care of everything for him which is a great life. But he never knew luvz!

9 years they had him?!
She was 4 when they got him so she has good reason to be upset.

Oh seriously, **** that guy.

That guy is such a jerk, is the only thing i can write.

Wow, that's really dickish.

It's idiots like this that activate my rage mode. I'd string him up and leave him to starve.

I'm sure that domesticated rabbit lasted real long out in the wild . . . . . Idiot activitsts.

Ah yes, the logic of animal rights activists. Never ceases to amaze me as to just how little they have...

They should throw his ass in prison and hand him a note saying "Scum should be raped."

Well heres hoping the dude gets hit by a truck or something that way there is one less moron in the world...

So why don't these activist go help people instead and stop wasting everyone's time doing unnecessary crimes and endangering the animal by putting it in the wild? These people are so counter productive to their own cause...

Espada12

There is absolutely no indication that the rabbit was released into the wild.

$10 says the pet bunny doesn't survive a week in the wild. damn, ppl can be complete idiots.

While I don't agree with what the person did, animals shouldn't justbe left in cages. Rabbits like to move around a lot. I don't know if they just left it in the cage or not, but it's possible. The person should have reported it to animal experts if that was the case.

This brings up something that I thought about awhile ago. Do you guys think that when someone steals an animal from an owner with malicious intent they should be charged with kidnapping? I mean, animals may be owned by people but they certainly aren't property. For example, a person steals a small dog to use as bait for his fighting dogs.

$10 says the pet bunny doesn't survive a week in the wild. damn, ppl can be complete idiots.

zmbi_gmr

Read the note. Pay attention to the specific complaints outlined in the note. Nowhere in the note is there a point about how it is wrong to keep rabbits, nowhere is there a sentiment that the rabbit would be better off in the wild. The note was about the specific conditions that this rabbit was forced to live in.

Turn on the TV, and switch the station to Animal Planet. Every single day they run shows about animals which are seized because they were improperly cared for. When the Animal Cops seize a dude's horse, does that carry the expectation that the problem is with horse ownership alone? No. Does that mean that you assume that they're gonna take the horse and just turn it loose in the woods? No. Why would you look at this case, and assume that the rabbit is going to be turned loose in the wild by a deranged nut? They left a note which says their specific problem. And their problem WASN'T with pet ownership itself, the problem was with the rabbit being improperly housed.

Also, biased article is biased. Notice how it describes the thief as a cruel animal rights activists, as if we're talking about some kind of Snidely Whiplash kind of character who did it just to make the girl cry. Was the girl sad about her rabbit being taken from her? Of course. Now turn on the Animal Planet, and watch all those people who have their dogs and cats and horses seized from them. Are those people sad too? Hell yeah, but it'll be sort of ridiculous to state that their animals are being seized just to make them cry.

I'm an activist for animal rights as much as the next guy, but that's just going to far. If an animal is well treated and taken care of, there shouldn't be an issue. What a nutter.... How much you want to bet PETA had a hand in this..

nothing like a PETA story to brighten the day. i must ask why people even still listen to PETA.kayoticdreamz

[QUOTE="zmbi_gmr"]

$10 says the pet bunny doesn't survive a week in the wild. damn, ppl can be complete idiots.

MrGeezer

Read the note. Pay attention to the specific complaints outlined in the note. Nowhere in the note is there a point about how it is wrong to keep rabbits, nowhere is there a sentiment that the rabbit would be better off in the wild. The note was about the specific conditions that this rabbit was forced to live in.

Turn on the TV, and switch the station to Animal Planet. Every single day they run shows about animals which are seized because they were improperly cared for. When the Animal Cops seize a dude's horse, does that carry the expectation that the problem is with horse ownership alone? No. Does that mean that you assume that they're gonna take the horse and just turn it loose in the woods? No. Why would you look at this case, and assume that the rabbit is going to be turned loose in the wild by a deranged nut? They left a note which says their specific problem. And their problem WASN'T with pet ownership itself, the problem was with the rabbit being improperly housed.

Also, biased article is biased. Notice how it describes the thief as a cruel animal rights activists, as if we're talking about some kind of Snidely Whiplash kind of character who did it just to make the girl cry. Was the girl sad about her rabbit being taken from her? Of course. Now turn on the Animal Planet, and watch all those people who have their dogs and cats and horses seized from them. Are those people sad too? Hell yeah, but it'll be sort of ridiculous to state that their animals are being seized just to make them cry.

guess i'm the idiot for not reading the note.

Rabbit is as good as dead if it was let into the wild. Whoever stole it is either an idiot or a jerk.