A baby rabbit was unceremoniously dumped in the St John’s Centre toilets, with security staff unsure of what to do other than to take him to lost property.
A shopper alerted security of the mysterious package in the women’s toilets at 1pm yesterday (June 20), they could hear movement inside and there were concerns it could have been a human baby.
The guard, Bethany Fisher, investigated and found the box in a toilet cubicle. She then brought the box, a cardboard pet carrier, to the lost property office, unsure of what else to do with it.
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It was the “maddest” thing they’ve ever had brought to lost property, according to Emily Carter, who’s the marketing manager at the city-centre shopping centre. She spoke of how there were fears the lost package could have contained something far more serious.
Emily, 38, said: “Oh my god, at first we were thinking ‘oh my god, is this going to be a baby in here?’ Like a baby human, which I thought was awful. It was almost a bit of a relief when I saw that it was a rabbit, it’s mad, it’s the maddest piece of lost property we’ve ever had.”
At first, the St John’s team thought the ginger rabbit was mistakenly left in the toilets and the owner would come dashing back for it. But as the day dragged on, it became more and more evident the rabbit, believed to be a kitten, had been abandoned.
Staff dubbed the rabbit Johnny, after the St John’s Centre, and let him scamper about in the office and stretch his legs. It wasn’t long until the whole team fell in love with him and decided not to call the RSPCA, in fear that the animal charity would put him down - even though, this is not their policy (see below).
Emily said: “Nobody called us and nobody came forward. I was reluctant to call the RSPCA as I didn’t want them to destroy it because I know that’s what they often do and I know they’re inundated with this kind of stuff. So we let it hop around the office for the afternoon and I’ve had to bring it home.
“It’s a bit random, he’s essentially lost property this little guy but we’re in a position now where we have to figure out what we do. Our lost property policy is to keep it for three months! So I’m foster mum at the moment, he came home with me last night.”
Emily, who’s a mother of two girls, six and nine, said her daughters quickly became besotted with Johnny but added that also owning a spaniel may make ownership difficult. So she’s asked her daughter’s school if they would like a pet rabbit and has also put calls out to other schools close to the city centre.
Johnny is currently living in Emily’s dog cage which her husband fashioned into a rabbit’s hutch, while she figures out what they're going to do with him.
The RSPCA has stated on their website, it will only euthanise animals as a very last resort in the nest interests of their welfare.
The animal charity's website states: "Our policy states that we will not euthanise a healthy, re-homeable animal.
"We will euthanise an animal only if this is in the best interest of their welfare. This means preventing further suffering, whether that's physical or mental, if they can't be rehabilitated with a view to either release (if wild) or rehome (if domestic)."
More can be read about the RSPCA's euthanasia policy and misconceptions here.
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