A COUPLE have been banned from keeping rabbits for two years after a court heard how they allowed a pet to starve to death.

RSPCA inspectors were called to the home of Rachel Boddy and Wayne Seccombe over concerns about the animal’s welfare.

When they got to the house on Dorset Avenue in Moorside, Consett, County Durham, they found the rabbit was dead in a hutch surrounded by droppings.

Seccombe, 27, said it had died the day before he had not had time to dispose of its body.

Judith Curry, prosecuting at Consett Magistrates Court today (Tuesday, May 28) said: “The rabbit had been eating its own faeces for some considerable time.

“This is normal behaviour for a rabbit. However, the RSPCA vet found it had been eating its own faeces and no other food at all.”

Seccombe and Boddy, 25, both pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and ensuring the welfare of the rabbit.

Mitigating, Adam Scott said: “They are not cruel people. They are very upset that this has happened.”

As well as the two year ban, they were each fined £110 and ordered to pay £125 each towards the costs of the prosecution.