Arvada Rabbit Breeder Found Guilty Of Animal Cruelty
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A jury in Jefferson County has found a woman guilty of 35 counts of animal cruelty for the treatment of rabbits on her property.
The Jefferson County District Attorney's office said Debe Bell, 59, owns Six Bells Farm located at 12820 W. 75th Avenue in Arvada.
This district attorney's office said Jefferson County Sheriff Animal Control officers went to Six Bells Farm to conduct a welfare check on rabbits after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip.
"Animal Control officers found deplorable conditions in a shed where 193 rabbits were housed," the district attorney's office said in a statement. "The cages housing the rabbits were urine-soaked, caked in feces, and had little or no food."
Bell raises and breeds rabbits.
"She had previously been licensed as a small animal breeder, but at the time the rabbits were removed from her property she was not licensed."
Animal Control officers removed 193 rabbits from the farm. Dead rabbits were also found in a freezer on Bell's property.
Bell was charged with 55 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20.
