Warning: Graphic images
A 27-year-old woman accused of abandoning a domestic rabbit has been given a 10-year ban on keeping animals.
Charlotte Goodwin, a mother-of-two, of Nursery Grove, Dewsbury, was convicted in her absence on September 28 of causing suffering to a protected animal and a separate charge of failing to ensure its welfare at Edge Lane, Dewsbury.
The case was adjourned at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
The first offence occurred between November 1, 2014 and February 14, 2015 and the second on or before February 14, 2015.
At a previous court hearing a vet, Laura Smith, said it had died from inadequate nutrition.
When she was interviewed by the RSPCA the defendant said she didn’t know anything about the rabbit which was found in the cellar at Edge Lane.
Yesterday (Wednesday) Andrew Davidson, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said the rabbit had been kept in a cage designed for the needs of a hamster not an animal as large as a rabbit.
In mitigation, Manat Ali, said Goodwin, a single parent who works part-time, had never troubled the courts before and had an unblemished history prior to today’s sentence.
She was genuinely upset about what had happened.
Chairman of the Bench, Brian Hughes, sentenced her to 200 hours unpaid work in addition to the 10-year ban.
It will be at least five years before she can apply for it to be lifted.
The defendant was also told to pay £500 costs as well as a £60 surcharge, payable at £5 per week.
