KEY POINTS

  • An Iowa residents was sentenced to two years in prison after killing a rabbit inside an animal shelter last year
  • Bobby Gene Carothers killed a rabbit named Petunia while inside the Animal Rescue League of Iowa last December
  • Carothers told authorities that he used a stick to beat the animal to death and at the same time, beheaded it and cut off its ears

In a bizarre case of animal cruelty, an Iowa man was sentenced to two years in prison after killing a rabbit with a stick and beheading the helpless animal last year.

64-year-old Bobby Gene Carothers was arrested in December for brutally killing a rabbit named Petunia at the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Iowa.

Staff of the animal shelter told the Des Moines Register that Carothers was the last remaining non-employee inside the premises as they performed their nightly duties.

handcuff
Representational image of a handcuffed man. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images

ARL asked the suspect to leave and minutes later, found Petunia in a “beyond gruesome” scene, said Fox News.

“I'm having rabbit stew tonight,” he said to an ARL employee while leaving the shelter.

Upon his arrest, Carothers told authorities that he used a stick to beat the rabbit to death. At the same time, he also cut off the animal's head and ears.

Police apprehended Carothers three hours after the barbaric act when a fire alarm was pulled at a local truck company, added FOX News.

Judge Tabitha Turner sentenced Carothers to two years in prison and was charged with animal torture and aggravated misdemeanor.

The ARL of Iowa meanwhile offered grief counseling to its staff members and received a protective order to prohibit Carothers from entering and ARL facility, said the Des Moines Register, citing ARL officials.

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