# "who is stealing my rabbits?"



## timetowaste (Jan 21, 2008)

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=586420&imageindex=1

Who is stealing my rabbits? Published on 15/01/2008
A CARLISLE toddler has been left heartbroken for the second time after thieves stole her pet rabbit from its hutch in the middle of the night.

Two-year-old Elizabeth Wood awoke yesterday morning to find Gizmo, a chocolate and white bunny, had gone.

Just a few weeks earlier the youngsterâs first rabbit, named Rabrab, vanished in similar circumstances.

There was no sign of escape and the family, who live in Rigg Street, fear both pets may have been stolen for hunting.

Staff at Carlisle pet store Nu Pets, in Lowther Street, are aware of a spate of similar rabbit thefts.

Elizabethâs parents Lucy Wood, 22, and Paul Naylor, 32, are now too afraid to buy another rabbit for Elizabeth for fear it meets a similar fate to Gizmo and Rabrab.

Both pets were in a hutch in the familyâs back yard â surrounded by fences and a wall â when they went missing.

Lucy said it was a brand new, fully secure hutch â which makes her think that Gizmo was taken for hunting.

The first theft happened just before Christmas. It was reported to the police but no culprit was ever found.

Rabrab had been in the family for around three years and Elizabeth, who is almost two, had grown up with him. 

After he was taken Elizabethâs grandparents, Ronny and Christine Wood, decided to buy her another bunny to help cheer her up.

They got Gizmo as a birthday present and the youngster went out every day to feed and cuddle him.

But now he has gone too and the toddler canât understand what has happened to him.

âWeâd been bringing Gizmo in every night because it was so cold but decided to leave him out that night as it has been a lot warmer,â said Elizabethâs mum Lucy.

âI went out the next morning to feed him and he wasnât there. The hutch was all shut up so he hadnât escaped.

âWe only bought the hutch a week before the first rabbit went missing so it was brand new. If theyâd stolen them to keep then youâd think theyâd have taken the hutch as well. We can only think that theyâve been taken to hunt.â

Police are now said to be investigating this and similar thefts in the area. But Ricky Majer, manager at Nu Pets, also fears the worst.

âWeâve had about six customers in the last two weeks whoâve had rabbits go missing,â he said.

âOne of the worst incidents was a rabbit that had been bought as a Christmas present for a six-year-old girl. She was absolutely devastated.

âA lot of people seem to think itâs people with dogs taking them for hunting. Apparently there are not many wild rabbits around at the moment so it is a possibility.â

Staff are now warning customers to be vigilant and take extra security precautions to protect their pets.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0845 33 00 247.


----------



## polly (Jan 21, 2008)

Jings its a sad world when people are taking other peoples pet rabbits and hunting with them never mind how terrifying for the rabbits themselves i hop ethey catch the evil people that are doingthis. Makes me wonder if Bruce isnt being paranoid about a web cam in the shed!!!

I tell you something though i would be converting my spare room inot hutches and setting a trap in the shed if i lived near there!!!


----------



## maisy126 (Jan 21, 2008)

:bigtearsoor bunnies (and owners) 



Here's this to the people that took them::vomit:


----------



## FallingStar (Jan 21, 2008)

That's so horrible. Poor little girls and buns. :sad:

Here is also to the people the took them.:boxing


----------



## monklover (Jan 21, 2008)

Aww that is so sad! I would be miserable if someone took my buns! :X


----------



## gentle giants (Jan 23, 2008)

That poor little girl. It's so hard to explain to a little one where the pet they loved is when something like this happens. I think if my bunny couldn't be in the house, I would have it in a shed, and a large leg trap set just inside the doorway. Let the sob thief step in that, and see how bad he wants a rabbit afterwards. :devil


----------



## BlueCamasRabbitry (Jan 31, 2008)

OMG, those poor girls. I hope they find their bunnies and keep them inside when they do. That's so sick, to go around and steal little girls' bunnies and (possibly) use them for hunting. Who cares if there isn't a lot of wild rabbits, that could be a good thing in some places. But maybe those jerks who stole them (and if for that reason) haven't ever heard of something called hunting for other animals. Either way, that's just so sad. :rant:


I hope they find their bunnies!  

Here's this to the jerks who stole them: :nonono::banghead:mail2:: TO JAIL!


----------



## maisy126 (Feb 1, 2008)

*gentle giants wrote: *


> That poor little girl. It's so hard to explain to a little one where the pet they loved is when something like this happens. I think if my bunny couldn't be in the house, I would have it in a shed, and a large leg trap set just inside the doorway. Let the sob thief step in that, and see how bad he wants a rabbit afterwards. :devil




:roflmao:


----------



## mouse_chalk (Feb 3, 2008)

Oh, that's just HORRIBLE Makes me so glad that our buns are all inside, safe and sound...


----------



## Brandy456 (Feb 4, 2008)

:yeahthat:


----------

