Update: Hayward Rabbit's Abuser Sentenced 5/20/05

[sophiebun]

Convicted Animal Abuser Sentenced:
Rabbit Rescue Group Demanded Maximum Accountability

RICHMOND, Calif. (May 23, 2005) - On May 12, 2004, Hayward Animal Control
and a rabbit rescue group rescued 34 rabbits from a serious cruelty
situation in Hayward, CA. On Friday, May 20, convicted animal abuser Janine
Marie Cazares received three years probation and sixteen days jail time for
charges resulting from this cruelty.

House Rabbit Society (HRS), a national nonprofit organization headquartered
in Richmond, CA, initially discovered the horrific situation through an
online posting last May 11 for free rabbits. Upon 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. All of the
rabbits were filthy, and signs of cruelty and neglect were everywhere. HRS
and EBAA volunteers returned the next day with Hayward Animal Services, who
determined that the animals should be immediately removed. 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.

On October 15, Hayward Police arrested Cazares, taking her to jail in
handcuffs. Alameda County prosecutors charged Cazares with misdemeanor
animal cruelty, and bail was set at $10,000. In November, Cazares pled "no
contest," and on April 20, Judge Robert Kurtz convicted her of animal
cruelty. On Friday, Judge Kurtz sentenced her to three years probation and
sixteen days jail time. Cazares may not bring additional animals into her
home during her probation, and she is also subject to unannounced searches
of her home and property by the Hayward Police Department and Animal
Control. She also must surrender the one remaining rabbit, Dave, to
authorities.

HRS spokesperson Erin Williams recalls, "The surviving rabbits were
suffering terribly from malnutrition, tumors, parasites, open sores,
infections, attacks from wild animals, and other serious problems. While
this was certainly bad enough, we discovered a huge number of rotting
corpses and body parts in the backyard. The condition that Cazares kept
these animals in was incredibly cruel."

Hayward Animal Control Officer Cara Taft adds, "I am pleased that the court
system realizes the extreme suffering these rabbits had to endure. All of us
on the case were personally involved and affected by the horrible conditions
these rabbits were kept in. The lack of compassion towards the rabbits on
Cazares part amazes me."

Dedicated HRS volunteers nursed the rabbits back to health, providing costly
and specialized treatment, and the group adopted all the surviving rabbits
into loving, permanent homes or sanctuaries.

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.

[lilchris_28]

THAT is the maximum sentence??? BOO!!

[Purplebunny]

OMG is that all she got???

[Millimi]

That's not fair! She should've gotten at least six months! But it's always better than nothing, right?