Bugs Binny: Police officer discovers abandoned rabbit dumped among fly-tipped rubbish in Nottinghamshire

Inspector Marcus Oldroyd was on a morning jog when he came across the unwanted bunny among a mountain of festering waste in Southwell on Monday, February 10.

The neglected pet was found shivering beside a pet carrier next to dozens of black bin bags and mattresses by the roadside in Brackenhurst Close.

The kind-hearted copper called the RSPCA who collected the under-nourished rabbit from Nottinghamshire Police headquarters.

The animal charity along with the force are now hunting for the heartless owners while the white lop-eared rabbit continues its recovery at a vets.

Insp Oldroyd said: “It was clearly a pet and had been callously thrown out as part of a fly-tipping episode.

"It was cowering and shivering amongst the bags of rubbish including a damaged pet carrier and an old mattresses, which had been fly-tipped.

“The poor little thing must have been terrified, especially in the recent weather conditions. To me, it was obvious it had been discarded as part of the fly-tipping.

“The RSPCA said to me that clearly the rabbit had been neglected and was well under-nourished.”

The rabbit had teeth problems and patchy fur suggesting it was kept in dirty conditions and left to lie in its urine for long periods of time.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We believe that someone took on this rabbit and then decided they couldn’t cope with looking after him so just discarded them in such a callous way along with rubbish at the side of a road.

“It was very lucky the rabbit was found by the off-duty police officer or he could have suffered a lingering death.

“We are now appealing for anyone who knows who the rabbit belongs to or who saw anything suspicious in the area to get in touch.”

Inspector Heather Sutton, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said: "I was sickened to hear what happened and we all know it's clearly not acceptable to treat an animal in this way.

"We will be following up with the RSPCA on the condition and potential new home as the rabbit deserves much better than what it had before.”

"If you can help please call 101 with any information, quoting incident 457 of 11 February 2020."

Councillor Roger Jackson, chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s leisure and environment committee, said: “Fly-tippers clearly have no regard for the environment but to stoop so low as to dump a live pet rabbit shows complete contempt for life.

"As a council, through our Not in Newark and Sherwood campaign, we are determined to rid the district of the problem of fly-tipping and will push for the maximum punishments for those who think they can just discard of their rubbish wherever they like.

"Make no mistake, fly-tipping is a crime and our officers are actively enforcing the law to bring offenders to account for their actions.”