FELIXSTOWE: Heartless pet owners were today slammed by an animal rescue worker after rabbits were dumped on a nature reserve.

Furious Nettie Trigg, who runs the Felixstowe Small Animal Rescue Centre, said the rabbits found at Landguard were clearly family pets – and had been set free at the site to get rid of them.

She said there had been repeated dumpings. They couldn’t fend for themselves in the wild, and were easy prey for dogs and a wild cat believed to live in the area.

“These were clearly family pets and someone has just driven up to Landguard and dumped them,” she said.

“To set these two rabbits free like this was completely thoughtless and a simply awful and very cruel thing to do to two harmless and defenceless animals.

“There is no reason in this day and age for anyone to dump unwanted animals.

“The RSPCA or myself, or other centres, would be perfectly willing to take pets and deal with them.”

She thanked the people who had helped her use 50 yards of netting to capture the rabbits, which are now being cared for at the Felixstowe Small Animal Rescue Centre in Russell Road, Felixstowe.

One of the rabbits, a female, has a bad abscess and is severely ill, while the other, a male, also had abdominal injuries but is likely to survive.

“I have spent �200 on vet’s bills for these two rabbits in the past week and I desperately want them both to survive,” said Ms Trigg.

“It’s heartbreaking though because the female is not well at all because the infection has gone right into the bone and I may have to make a decision about her soon.

“If people cannot look after a pet any more, they should just take it to the RSPCA – if they cannot face anyone about it, it would be far better to put in a secure container and leave it in the middle of the night than dump it.”