A SELF-proclaimed animal cruelty protestor stole a pet rabbit and left the devastated family a note claiming ‘rabbits should be out socialising’.

Oliver Bailey, 38, and his children Kiera, 13, and Harry, 10, woke on Friday morning to discover that Barney the nine-year-old rabbit had been taken from his hutch in the back garden of their Sunnyhurst home in Darwen.

On top of the hutch was an A4 plastic sleeve containing a small, handwritten note, saying: “This is animal cruelty. Rabbits should not be left in hutches, they should be out in the wild and socialising.”

Mr Bailey said the family pet was bought for Kiera when she cut her eye in reception class and wanted a rabbit to make her feel better.

“My children are heartbroken. I’ve had nothing but tears this morning. They are absolutely horrified. They love the rabbit and play with him every day. He is taken to the vets regularly and gets the best possible treatment.

“We are heartbroken to be accused of animal cruelty to a pet rabbit we love dearly.

“My kids are asking me ‘Why would someone do this to us when we love him so much?’."

Mr Bailey had seen Barney in his hutch on Thursday night, but spotted the note from his bedroom window weighted down by a stone.

“It must be a nutter. We live very close to Sunnyhurst Woods and someone must have seen him in our back garden. But if they let him out into the woods he will die because he’s tame.

“If they’ve let him out into the wild it will have the opposite effect of what they have intended. If they’ve still got him we’d really like him back.

“We’ve also got a couple of dogs and goldfish. What would they have us do, put the fish in the reservoir and let the dogs run loose?”

Leaflets appealing for the safe return of the rabbit will be put up in the Sunnyhurst pub and Mr Bailey has asked neighbours to keep watch.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary confirmed they had received a report of a stolen rabbit and a note about ‘animal cruelty’.

Barney is small, white with grey patches. Contact police on 0845 1253545.