Case Details

Rabbit thrown into alligator pool
Colwyn Bay, WA (UK)

Date: Oct 2005
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Abuser/Suspect: Damien French

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 5843
Classification: Mutilation/Torture
Animal: rabbit (pet)
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Damien French appeared in court on Oct 25, accused of throwing a live rabbit into an alligator pool.

French, 19, of Ellesmere Road, Colwyn Bay, is charged with cruelty to the rabbit at the town's Welsh Mountain Zoo in Oct. He is also accused of damaging a window at the Abandoned Animals shop at Colwyn Bay the following day.

The teenager was remanded on bail until a hearing next month by magistrates at Llandudno with a condition that he doesn't go within 100 metres of the zoo. No pleas were entered.

Case Updates

Damien French, who threw a rabbit to an alligator, has had to flee his home after terrifying threats from vengeful animal rights extremists.

French, 20, who followed the outrage by sinking 25 pints of lager and going on a wrecking spree, escaped jail yesterday. Instead he was given a suspended six-month jail sentence.

But a far more sinister threat hangs over him. Chris Jackson, boss of the zoo where laughing French carried out his attack, said: "He's brought himself to the attention of the more extreme animal rights people and will have to be extremely careful.

"Personally, I'd find that a worse punishment than prison. We received some letters which made threats to him, one of which we felt we had to report to police. We're glad we never have to see him again."

Tattooed French, who is at a secret address after fleeing his home in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, showed no emotion as sentence was passed. Asked for his reaction, he grinned and said: "No comment."

The unemployed French grabbed the rabbit from the pets' enclosure at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, in Colwyn Bay, and dropped it into a pool where it was savaged by Albert the alligator.

French spent that evening drinking up to 25 pints of lager. Later, he was caught on CCTV smashing shop windows, one belonging to a charity store for abandoned animals.

He was convicted of animal cruelty last month. He also admitted criminal damage. Yesterday Llandudno magistrates put him under a 12-month supervision order, including treatment for alcohol abuse, and banned him from keeping animals for 10 years.
Source: Mirror.Co.Uk - April 6, 2006
Update posted on Apr 7, 2006 - 10:01AM 
Damien French, 20, from Colwyn Bay, was found guilty of cruelty to the rabbit at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in the town in north Wales.
Llandudno Magistrates Court heard French took the rabbit from an area used for children to stroke animals. The teenager had claimed a friend with him at the time was responsible.

The prosecution said French, accompanied by two other teenagers, took the rabbit from the petting area into a compound containing two alligators, where he dangled it from a balcony. He dropped the rabbit and a male alligator named Albert took it in its jaws and killed it but did not eat it. The court heard a young girl entered the alligator house and asked the three: "Is that a rabbit?" The three are alleged to have fallen into fits of laughter as one answered: "It was - it was running around 10 minutes ago." French is said to have laughed hysterically at the scene

One of the boys with French that day, now aged 16, told the court: "We were in the alligator house and Damien said, 'He looks hungry'. "He went into the other place, climbed on to a ledge and leaned over and he grabbed one of the rabbits by its ears. "He said he was going to throw it to the alligators. I said 'Don't throw it in', but he did." French said in court he felt guilty about the rabbit's death because he had been present at the time but was not responsible for it dying. He blamed his 14-year-old friend, who cannot be named, saying the other boy had taken the rabbit from its pen and thrown it to the alligators. He said: "We were all laughing about it. I was laughing just because of the shock of it happening. "I found it funny at the time but I feel pretty bad about it now. It's not a nice thing to have happened. "I felt as guilty as the others just for being there, but I didn't touch the rabbit."

However both his friends blamed him for the incident and suggested he was angry the rabbit had scratched his new jacket. The court heard after leaving the alligator house, the boys also threw a lit cigarette to a chimpanzee, and French was seen reaching into an arctic fox enclosure. French had previously admitted smashing two shop windows in Colwyn Bay in the early hours of the day after the rabbit killing. Defence solicitor Chris Dawson had argued the court could not be sure who had thrown the rabbit.

Chair of magistrates Alan Roberts said: "Custody seems a very likely option." French will be sentenced on 5 April 2006. Welsh Mountain Zoo administrative director Chris Jackson said after the trial he was pleased with the verdict. "This is a salutary lesson to people who indulge in mindless attacks on defenceless animals," he added.
Source: BBC News - March 9, 2006
Update posted on Mar 25, 2006 - 8:02AM 
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References

icWales - Oct 26, 2005
icWales - May 12, 2006

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