This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A man who microwaved his pet rabbit to death has been jailed for 16 weeks – with a judge branding the killing “sadistic”.

Paul Rogers, 60, watched as the rabbit writhed and squealed inside the oven for three minutes before leaving its body on a saucepan lid in his room.

The homeless drifter, who was living temporarily at Dorchester Guest House in Gloucester, had bought the female rabbit five days earlier from a pet shop. He named it Fluffy George Fudge, fed it dandelions and let it run free in his room, Cheltenham magistrates court heard.

Rogers, who had spent periods in psychiatric hospitals, had earlier admitted causing an animal unnecessary suffering on 28 October last year.

District judge Joti Boparai said: “This is one of the most upsetting and unpleasant cases I have dealt with for a long time. Animal cruelty is bad enough when people abuse their pets, but this has resulted in very extreme suffering by a helpless rabbit.

“You thought about it, you planned it and you decided to carry out this sadistic act – and not only that, once you put the rabbit in that microwave you watched it while it squealed in that microwave.

“Three minutes is an extremely long time for anything to be suffering in the way I have heard.”

Rogers told police he killed his pet because he was “not happy with his lot” after being denied the medication he believed he should have been prescribed.

“I didn’t want blood on my hands and I felt the most humane way to put her out of her misery was to put her in the microwave,” he said.

He also said he had “no remorse whatsoever” and added: “Not even a grain of sand on a beach. I would be lying if I said I did.”

Helen Smith, defending, said Rogers had spent periods as an inpatient at psychiatric hospitals during his life.

“This case is shocking and distasteful but you do have to put the circumstances of this case into the context of this particular defendant,” she said.