UNITED KINGDOM -- A pet rabbit was kicked around like a football by two schoolboys until its leg was snapped, the RSPCA have said.

Betsy the bunny was so severely beaten by the 11-year-olds that its face was cut to shreds.

 

Vets had to carry out emergency surgery on the battered pet for it to survive the ferocious attack.

The attack started on the helpless pet after it managed to escape from its hutch in the garden.

A neighbour in St Mellons, Cardiff, saw the pair pouncing on the animal straightaway, kicking it several times and even launching her into the air with their kicks.

RSPCA inspector Nicola Johnson said: 'This was an act of mindless cruelty and it’s vital that someone helps us trace these youths.

'The X-ray shows the rabbit’s leg snapped completely under the savage pressure of the attack.

'Somebody in the area must know something about this incident and I would urge them to make contact immediately.”

The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: 'The rabbit got out of its hutch and then escaped from the garden where he was a family pet.

'Two boys saw it and used it like a football - the poor thing was kicked up in the air. It is a shocking way to treat a defenceless animal - in my day kids would want to stroke and care for a lost animal.'

Police are looking for two blonde haired boys in connection with the attack.

(Daily Mail UK - Sept 5, 2012)