Rabbit Abusers Plead Guilty: Rescue Group Demanded Strict Accountability for Cruelty

[Guest guest]

For Immediate Release

Contact: Erin Williams, HRS Richmond Communications, (510)

970-7575

www.rabbit.org

 

Rabbit Abusers Plead Guilty:

Rescue Group Demanded Strict Accountability for Cruelty

 

RICHMOND, Calif. (April 13, 2005) – Lucky the rabbit gained national

attention after her " owner " taped her to explosives and threw her into an

East Bay lake. This Wednesday, the men responsible pled guilty to

animal cruelty charges in a crime that animal rescuers have called an

atrocity. They received a sentence of jail time, probation, counseling,

restitution for Lucky’s medical care, and community service.

 

This past summer, Lucky's previous " owner " Nicholas Sigmon and his

friend, Paul Collins, planned to kill Lucky with explosives. On July 13,

2004, they met a group of friends at San Leandro’s Lake Don Castro.

Sigmon and his friends duct-taped Lucky to a quarter stick of dynamite,

lit the fuse, and threw her into the water. The explosives did not

detonate, and the men watched her swim until they pulled her,

exhausted, onto the dock. While the rabbit lay immobile and terrified,

they discussed a second attempt, deciding that the fuse was too short

to relight. Perhaps most shocking, the young people planned the

torture, taking her to the lake with the intent to blow her up and

document the atrocity with video and still cameras.

 

An online posting containing shocking photos of Lucky alerted House

Rabbit Society, a national rabbit rescue organization headquartered in

Richmond, CA, to the abuse. HRS notified East Bay Regional Park

District Police, who confiscated Lucky and placed her in HRS’s care.

After providing her with medical and foster care, the organization

adopted her to a loving family, where she now lives happily with other

rabbit companions.

 

Alameda County prosecutors charged Sigmon and Collins with

misdemeanor animal cruelty. Today, the men pled guilty to the

charges. Judge Robert Fairwell sentenced Sigmon to 30 days jail time

and Collins to 15 days in jail. The judge also ordered both men to

attend acute psychological counseling, perform community service,

and pay fines. Both men also may not own explosives or care for

animals during their three years of probation.

 

HRS representative Erin Williams states, " Lucky suffered an atrocity at

the hands of these dangerous and cruel individuals. While any animal

abuse is completely unacceptable, the fact that Sigmon and Collins

used live explosives and documented Lucky’s torture is shocking. This

rabbit was a family pet – part of Sigmon’s family. While he should have

cared for her and loved her, he instead tried to blow her up. " Williams

also commends the District Attorney’s office, stating, " The DA clearly

took this case seriously. Given that Sigmon also recently received

probation for a DUI arrest in January, it was imperative that he receive

intensive counseling for his dangerous actions. "

 

Lucky’s guardian Rachel Hess explains, " Lucky went through a hell that

no one should ever suffer. What Nicholas Sigmon and Paul Collins did

to her was nothing short of sadistic torture and abuse. The fact that

their heartlessly cruel act was also proudly posted on the web shows a

blatant and callous disregard for life and the law. " Like the thousands

of people who wrote letters, signed petitions, and called the court,

Hess encouraged the court to consider a sentence appropriate for the

incredibly cruel act against a helpless creature.

 

For more information about Lucky, please visit www.luckyrabbit.org. For

information about HRS chapters and rabbits available for adoption

throughout the Bay Area, please visit www.rabbit.org.

 

# # #

 

House Rabbit Society is an international non-profit organization that

rescues rabbits and educates the public on rabbit care and behavior

through its national network of fosterers and educators, advocacy

programs, and its no-kill rabbit shelter in Richmond, California.

 

 

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