Debe Bell found guilty of 35 counts of animal abuse targeting rabbits
Debe Bell, 59, has been found guilty on 35 counts of animal abuse at an Arvada property known as Six Bells Farm, where she raised rabbits.
Big photos below.
Many of the animals appear to have suffered and died in shocking conditions captured in photos on view below.
According to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, animal control officers arrived at Six Bells Farm on July 21, 2011, in response to a tip. There, they discovered a shed containing no fewer than 193 rabbits.
The temperature inside the structure on this hot summer day was 84 degrees, and ventilation was clearly not a priority, given the condition of the fan inside. The rabbits were kept inside cages, where they were found covered in their own filth, with little or no food to sustain them.
Debe Bell.
Surprisingly, some of the rabbits were hearty enough to survive, and once they were nursed back to health, they were readied for adoption through the Foothills Animal Shelter. However, (correction) the Jeffco DA's office says twenty of them were dead, including a number of animals found in a farm freezer.
Although necropsies on the dead animals suggested that they had experienced pain and suffering before expiring, the jury considering the case ruled Bell not guilty in their death. But that still left 35 counts of animal cruelty on which she was convicted, with each one bringing a potential eighteen months in jail.
Bell, whose license to breed animals wasn't current at the time of her arrest, will be back in court on March 20 to learn her sentence. In the meantime, look below to see photos of the conditions courtesy of Pet-Abuse.com.
Page down to see more photos.
Pet-Abuse.com
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