Thieves Steal Family Rabbit, Create Youtube Of Themselves Torturing It, Find Themselves In A Hairy Situation

Rebecca Atkinson, of Seaham, County Durham, was dismayed to find her pet lionhead rabbit missing from its hutch. Percy, the innocent victim of the incident, was found missing this past weekend just hours after giving birth to 11 babies.

The Atkinson’s did not think that their poor rabbit was in any real harm from the thief and reported it to the police because of the grief they felt from the heartbreak. However, they were soon advised of a video on YouTube that showed three naked men in a bathtub torturing a rabbit that looked strangely familiar to Percy. When they watched the video, they worst fear was realized.

The mystery of the missing rabbit was heartbreaking, to say the least, to the Atkinson’s. However, viewing the video of their beloved pet rabbit was devastating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnx4B37fkGA

Rebecca’s husband Anthony had the following to say about the situation:

“We only thought that Percy was stolen so we reported it to the police but we never even imagined that someone could do something like this to her. When she received a message showing her what happened to the Percy we were gobsmacked. It’s disgusting and sick, what ever goes through people’s minds? To torture an animal in that way and throw it out of the window is inhumane, we can’t stop thinking about how much she would have suffered. We are all heartbroken. Rebecca and the kids cried all night and haven’t slept.”

Percy was purchased only three weeks prior to the rabbit-napping with her mate Ken. The babies are too young to care for themselves and must be being taken care of by the Atkinson’s.

Although the despicable video shows the torture of poor Percy, the video has been removed from YouTube, some good did come from the posting. Police focused on the investigation and apprehended two men, one 19 and the other 20, as well as a 17-year-old teenager. All three were arrested and released on bail. A fourth individual, who is 16 years old, is still in custody. Despite the hairy situation that the four individuals are in, more information is being sought.

Police are still looking for more information about the crime and believe that Percy the Rabbit was stolen between Friday evening on June 27 and the following morning.

A spokesman for the Durhan Constabulary stated:

“Anyone who has any information regarding this incident is urged to contact Durham Constabulary.”

When calling, use the reference number DHM-29062014-0153. The RSPCA is also involved in the investigation

Photo courtesy: The Daily Mail