Rabbit Abuser Convicted of Animal Cruelty: Rabbit Rescue Group Calls for Maximum Sentencing

[Guest guest]

Immediate Release

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

970-7575

www.rabbit.org, www.haywardrabbits.org

 

Rabbit Abuser Convicted of Animal Cruelty: Rabbit Rescue Group Calls

for Maximum Sentencing

 

RICHMOND, Calif. (April 21, 2005) – On May 12, 2004, Hayward Animal

Control and a rabbit rescue group rescued 34 rabbits from a serious

cruelty situation in Hayward, CA. Yesterday, Janine Marie Cazares

pleaded " no contest " and was convicted of animal cruelty charges

arising from the case.

 

House Rabbit Society (HRS), a national nonprofit organization

headquartered in Richmond, CA, initially discovered the horrific

situation through an online posting on May 11, 2004, for free rabbits.

Upon immediately visiting the home, HRS and East Bay Animal

Advocates (EBAA) volunteers discovered 34 rabbits languishing in a

feces-filled backyard. Cazares kept the rabbits in an outdoor enclosure

with machinery, cans of gasoline, and junk strewn around the property.

All of the rabbits were covered in dirt, feces, and mats, and signs of

abuse and neglect were everywhere. HRS and EBAA volunteers

returned on May 12 with Hayward Animal Services, who determined

that the animals should be immediately removed from the residence.

Humane officers and volunteers were shocked to discover a large

number of dead and decaying rabbits, in addition to sick,

malnourished, and injured rabbits, piles of feces, and insect

infestation.

 

" It was a truly horrifying situation, " explains HRS spokesperson Erin

Williams. " There was an enormous number of rotting corpses and

body parts as well as the survivors, who were suffering terribly. Most of

the rabbits had significant medical problems, including tumors,

parasites, open sores, shredded or half-eaten ears, eyes that were

completely closed from infection, as well as serious illnesses. Some

rabbits could barely stand. It was the worst case of abuse I have seen. "

 

Accompanied by Hayward Animal Control officer Cara Taft, Hayward

Police arrested Cazares on Friday, October 15, and charged her with

animal cruelty, CA Penal Code 597f. Cazares was taken to jail in

handcuffs and bail was set at $10,000. On Tuesday, November 9,

2004, she entered a plea of " no contest " at her arraignment. Yesterday,

Judge Robert Kurtz convicted her of charges and set her sentencing

date on May 20 at 2:00 in Dept. 519 at the Hayward Hall of Justice.

 

A team of dedicated HRS volunteers nursed the rabbits back to health,

providing costly and specialized treatment, and the organization

adopted all the surviving rabbits into loving, permanent homes or

sanctuaries. One rabbit, Dave, is left at Cazares’ home, and HRS

requests that this rabbit immediately be turned over to Hayward Animal

Control.

 

HRS encourages Judge Kurtz to pursue maximum sentencing for this

heinous act of cruelty, including psychiatric counseling. Additionally,

HRS seeks restitution for veterinary costs for all treatments directly

related to the inhumane conditions the rabbits endured at Cazares'

property.

 

For photos and more information regarding this case, including

photographs and witness statements, please visit

http://www.haywardrabbits.org. HRS chapters throughout the Bay Area

also have hundreds more loving, gentle rabbits who desperately need

homes. To learn more, 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.

 

 

Erin Williams

House Rabbit Society

 

 

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