I can't help but wonder at the logic that suggests "humiliation" is sufficient cause for granting an absolute discharge in an animal cruelty case.

This young man presumably chose to get drunk and then chose to punch an innocent animal in retribution for a bite. The fact the rabbit was probably terrorized by being chased down and was reacting in self-defense obviously did not cross his mind. Neither does it seem to have registered much on the horizon of the legal system.

Once again, we see the need for a strengthening and clarification of the provisions of the Criminal Code regarding animal cruelty. And once again we see the apparent disregard some U. Vic students have toward rabbits, evidently the animal group that is seen as the victim of choice for those desiring a little blood with their education.

What saddens me most is the fact there is a strong probability that this was a dumped former pet whose owners were callous or ill educated enough to not get their pet suitably spayed or neutered and who then threw it out when it became inconvenient. This rabbit was the victim of not one, but two crimes: dumping, and animal cruelty. And in both instances no-one has truly been held accountable.

Sue Collard