Woman jailed over rabbit obsession

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 12:26

An American woman banned from keeping rabbits after she became obsessed with them has been jailed after police found her in a hotel room with more than a dozen.

A judge said 47-year-old Miriam Sakewitz broke her probation by having the rabbits and sentenced her to 90 days in the county jail.

Police arrested Sakewitz earlier this month after hotel staff in Portland, Oregon, saw and smelled the rabbits, some of them hopping free.

Her problems began in 2006 when police found more than 150 rabbits in her home and dozens more bodies in freezers. She was arrested on accusations of animal neglect. After pleading no contest, she was placed on five years' probation, with one condition being that she stay away from rabbits.

A police spokesman said vets removed eight adult rabbits, five young ones and a dead one from the hotel room in the latest incident.

Sakewitz had undergone a court-ordered mental evaluation but no treatment was recommended.