Pet rabbit tortured, killed
Lawrence, KS (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 27, 2006
County: Douglas

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Austin Newport

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

A Lawrence man charged with killing Melvin the lop-eared bunny is the first person to be prosecuted in Douglas County under a new state law that makes animal cruelty a felony.

Dist. Atty. Charles Branson�s office filed a felony animal cruelty charge against Lawrence resident Austin Newport, who�s charged with killing his and his roommate�s pet rabbit July 27 by putting it in a plastic bag and trying to break its neck.

Prior to July 1, the crime of cruelty to animals was classified only as a misdemeanor. But an outcry about some high-profile animal cruelty cases � including the beating and burning of Scruffy the terrier in 1997 in Kansas City, Kan., and the case of a puppy found last year in a Wichita trash bin with bound feet, a broken leg and chemical burns � spurred the Legislature to toughen the penalties.

Now, it can be charged as a felony when prosecutors believe the person �intentionally and maliciously� killed, injured, maimed, tortured, burned or mutilated an animal. It carries a minimum 30-day jail sentence and $500 fine, as well as a mandatory psychological evaluation and anger management program.

Newport�s explanation, according to a police report, was that he didn�t think he could care for the rabbit any more and planned to eat it. He said in an interview that he wasn�t acting maliciously and that the animal died the next day after a heart attack.

�I did mess up, I will admit that, but I was trying to do the right thing,� he said. �I feel horrible.�

His former roommate, Jamie Nixon, who reported the incident to police, said she doesn�t accept his explanation. She said she approves of the tougher animal cruelty law.

�It seems like for something that has no ability to stand up for itself, we need to do what we can,� she said.

The law makes a number of exceptions, including the killing of animals under normal veterinary practices, for research experiments or in authorized hunting or trapping. It also makes an exception for �normal or accepted practices of animal husbandry,� including practices for slaughtering farm animals for food.

�Based on what we�ve got here, we don�t believe it fits in those definitions,� Branson said.

Even though animal cruelty wasn�t a felony until this year, in the past offenders still could face jail time. For example, a man convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty for throwing a pet rabbit off a balcony in September 2005 at a Lawrence apartment complex eventually served a 20-day jail term, according to city prosecutor Jerry Little.

Case Updates

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