This is a fact-finding endorsement from the court to determine whether it would accept as proven all essential facts to the jury’s guilty verdicts, and any other fact relevant to sentencing disclosed by the evidence at trial: Criminal Code, s 724(2). The offender had been charged with 15 counts of offences committed against rabbits (Smokey, Loki, Chloe, and Henry) as well as multiple unnamed rabbits, by killing or injuring them and causing them unnecessary pain, injury or suffering. On June 28, 2025, a jury had found the offender guilty of 12 counts; the Crown had previously withdrawn three counts.
Some of the acts of violence committed toward the rabbits include: severing of limbs and castration without sedation or veterinary care/oversight, improper handling causing one rabbit’s skin to separate from the muscle in her neck and beating and throwing another rabbit around while holding their back legs.
The court accepted the testimony of forensic veterinarian Dr. Margaret Doyle, who had examined several of the rabbit victims and found that the injuries were made intentionally by the offender. It decided against listing all of the injuries caused to the multiple rabbits – well over a dozen unnamed in addition to the four named rabbits – due to their graphic nature (para. 6, 1-24).
Defence counsel invited the court to make other findings “based on what the offender told the police officer regarding his mental health issues, personal circumstances, including financial circumstances and substance abuse, and voices he says he heard in his head at the time of the offences” (para. 8), but the court declined to accept those as fact and instead wait for the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre Psychiatric/Psychological Risk Assessment and Pre-sentence Report.
UPDATE: On May 29th, the court handed down an eight-year prison sentence, where the judge made comments around animals no longer being seen as chattels, that animal cruelty offences are crimes of violence, and that the extensive pain and suffering involved, the brutality of violence and breach of trust were considered aggravating. The judge also rejected the defence counsel proposal of a CSO, agreeing with the Crown that it is insufficient for crimes of violence against animals. This is now the longest animal cruelty sentence in Alberta court history; previously it was Raugust who had been sentenced six and a half years for torturing and killing multiple cats.
https://canlii.ca/t/khz28