A PAIR of rabbit enthusiasts won top awards for one of their animals the day before being seized by RSPCA officers, a court heard.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court was told a rabbit belonging to breeders Dawn and Peter Bundy won two prizes for “best in show” at an exhibition of rabbits.

The following day RSPCA and environmental health officers went to the couple’s home in Maplin Road, Millbrook, Southampton, and took 73 of the pair’s 126 rabbits. Officers removed the specialist rabbits – worth about £3,000 – from the back yard of the house on the advice of vet Kimberly Evans on October 1 last year.

The bench heard the animals were in such small hutches some could not sit up on their hind legs.

Mrs Bundy, a member of the British Rabbit Council, told the court the animals had been kept in small hutches to stop them becoming too long in the body.

She added the rabbits had not been exercised in winter months to keep them in prime condition for showing.

Mr Bundy added: “They didn’t need to stand on their hind legs. They only do that to look out for danger and there was none.”

The court was previously told how some of the rabbits had been found in hutches soaked with droppings and urine.

Mr and Mrs Bundy said they thought the animals had been kept in “perfect” condition.

Mrs Bundy said: “I love my rabbits. I looked after them to the best of my ability.

“The ones with dirty hutches were going to be cleaned that afternoon but I got interrupted.”

Miss Evans previously told the court the seized rabbits were found to have long claws and were slightly overweight but not unhealthy. She added that 16 of the animals had since died or been destroyed humanely.

Mr and Mrs Bundy, who have been breeding show rabbits since 1991, deny contravening two sections of the Animal Welfare Act.

Proceeding.