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Children's heartbreak over Leeds rabbits theft
A family have been left heartbroken after their pet rabbits were stolen for a SECOND time.
The Pearsons from Pudsey first fell victim to pet thieves four years ago when they had a pair of rabbits stolen.
At the weekend they fell prey again, with their newest pets Alfie and Oscar being taken from the hutch in the middle of the afternoon.
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Mum-of-two Karen Pearson, who lives in Daleside Road, said her children, Laura 12, and Alex, 15, had been left distraught by the theft of the part-Lionhead breed pair, both nine-months-old.
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She said: "It was Alex who discovered the hutch had been ripped open and he was really upset and angry, especially because it had happened before."
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She said it was the latest in a series of rabbit thefts in the area.
Karen, 42, said: "One of the neighbours in our street had also had rabbits stolen and so had someone else who lives around the corner. It seems to have been going on for about the past four years."
It is not unknown for dogs to get into rabbit hutches, but Karen was convinced her family's hutch had been forced by human hands.
She said: "It is a two-storey hutch and a dog would have tried to get into it at the bottom. But it is the top section that has been forced.
I don't think there is any way a dog could have done it.
"What really upsets me is the thought that someone might be stealing them to bait their dogs with.
"It's disgusting and people should be aware of what's happening."
She said the family was planning to get more rabbits but would now install security cameras to stop animals being taken in the future.
She said: "It's going to cost us hundreds of pounds but the kids love their rabbits. What else can we do?"
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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