Serial rabbit killer sentenced to eight years in prison
Nicholas Weseen was convicted of torturing and killing multiple rabbits in his Forest Lawn basement suite. A judge called his conduct "repugnant and shocking."
A Calgary judge sentenced serial rabbit killer Nicholas Weseen to eight years in federal prison Friday, rejecting a community-based sentence and calling his crimes of animal torture "repugnant, shocking and inconceivable."
Justice Michel Bourque of the Calgary Court of King's Bench found that Weseen's deliberate cruelty — which included castrating animals without sedatives and cutting one open to check if she was pregnant — warranted a lengthy custodial term.
Weseen showed no outward emotion as the judge detailed the horrific acts inflicted on several rabbits in his care, four of which he had named: Smokey, Loki, Henry and Chloe. The rabbits' suffering was extensive, Bourque noted.
The Crown had sought a 10-year sentence, arguing Weseen's crimes could justify up to 16 years. Bourque initially determined a 13-year sentence was appropriate before reducing it for totality principles.
The judge identified multiple aggravating factors: the brutality of the violence, the breach of trust toward his own pets, and the extent of the rabbits' pain and suffering. Bourque noted courts have clearly recognized animal cruelty as a crime of violence. "Animals are no longer viewed as chattels," he said.
Weseen's letter of apology and oral statement in court showed signs of regret but not true remorse, Bourque found. "Its dominant theme is the impact on the offender himself," the judge said of the letter.
Defence counsel had sought a conditional sentence to be served in the community, but Bourque agreed with the Crown that such an arrangement would fail to reflect the seriousness of the crimes.