 The car in which the dead rabbits were found |
A father has talked about his son's distress after his pet rabbits were beheaded and burned in a car in County Antrim. The three rabbits were stolen from hutches at a house on the Glenariff Road in Portrush early on Tuesday morning.
They were discovered missing after the child's mother called the fire service to a fire at the back of their home.
About 15 minutes later, two of the rabbits were found with their heads cut off inside a car which was burnt out at Glenbush Drive.
James Hughes said his family were very upset at what had happened.
 |  My son was very upset this morning when he was going to school. He had the rabbits from they were babies  |
His son, Alexander, who is eight-years-old and is mentally disabled, was particularly distressed about what had happened to his pets. "They set fire to the back, took the rabbits, decapitated them, then burned them.
"How anybody can live with themselves, I don't know," Mr Hughes said.
"I would like to know what they would think if it was them and not us.
"My son was very upset this morning when he was going to school. He had the rabbits from they were babies. "How anybody can do that on a handicapped child, I would like to know."
Chief Inspector Nigel Kyle said officers were shocked at what they discovered at the scene.
He said: "The officers were really taken aback.
"In our job you often feel you have seen the worst of people at times, but this really takes us to the fair - having seen what people are prepared to do to something that is very dear to a local child."
SDLP councillor John Dallat said those responsible for the mutilation of the rabbits should "seek help".
"Anyone who would embark on an escapade like this needs counselling because they have lost their way totally and clearly do not understand the joy of nature and the enormous satisfaction others get from keeping pets and being kind to them," Mr Dallat said.
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