Debe Bell, Owner Of Six Bell's Farms, Faces 25 Charges Of Animal Cruelty; 200 Rabbits Seized (PHOTOS)

Debe Bell, 59, former owner of 200 rabbits faces 25 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty after authorities raided her Six Bell’s Farm in Arvada last month and found the rabbits in “inhumane and cruel” conditions, 7News reports.

Jefferson County Sherrif’s Office released this press statement about the shocking conditions the rabbits were kept in, “After Officers and veterinarians’ did an initial inspection of the rabbits and the conditions they were being kept in, it was determined that the 200 rabbits needed to be seized for their welfare. The rabbits are being transported to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds for further evaluation and care by Foothills Animal Shelter.”

The arrest affidavit describes horrifying conditions:

• Piles of feces and pools of urine in many cases so profound that the animals are sitting or lying in it.
• Impossible to determine sex of many of the rabbits due to severely matted and filthy coats.
• Unacceptably high ammonia levels caused by excessive urine.
• Many of the rabbit’s coats are so severely matted that they cannot urinate or defacate without extreme difficulty.
• There is a lack of food and water, resulting in “terrible dehydration” which is evidenced by “tacky gums.”
• 75% more rabbits housed in the shed than the space allows.

The arrest affidavit goes on to describe rabbits with severe eye discharge, nasal discharge and even a dead rabbit and another with a neurological disease. When Animal Control Officers and medical personnel placed clean bowls of water in front of the rabbits, the sick animals “lunged” at the bowls of water.

Bell’s attorney, Elizabeth Kearney, is going to fight the charges against her client, claiming that Bell’s rabbits should be considered livestock, not pets, and that Jefferson County Sherrif’s are incorrectly enforcing standards for domesticated animals, according to The Denver Post.

Photos taken at the scene of Six Bell's Farm animal cruelty call in July 2011. The animals were seized due to the conditions, following a search warrant. Courtesy of Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. WARNING: PHOTOS ARE GRAPHIC.

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Photos taken at the scene of an animal cruelty call in July 2011. The animals were seized due to the conditions, following a search warrant. Courtesy Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

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Photos taken at the scene of an animal cruelty call in July 2011. The animals were seized due to the conditions, following a search warrant. Courtesy Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

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Candide33 said on 20 Saturday 2011 am31 12:43 am: Oh so it is ok to abuse them? NOT!

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Comments

[Laurella Desborough]

09:37 PM on 09/09/2011

The sad thing in this case is that rabbits likely died as a result of that move OUT of a cooled building and transported to an uncooled building, placed in hard surfaced containers where they sat in their own urine and feces. That is why rabbit cages have wire bottoms, so the urine drops thru. This is another case where the correct procedure would have been to Impound In Situ...to place an order of impound on the rabbits and leave them where they were...charging the owner with demands for clean up and a re-inspection in a week to confirm she fulfilled the requirements of the order. That would have been the correct procedure for the rabbits and for the owner. What ever happened to doing what is best for the animals and the owners???

[burningbird]

01:34 PM on 09/11/2011

The rabbits were given food and water. Those that needed medical attention were given it. Most have been adopted out to loving families, where they live in environments that are clean, well maintained, light, and airy.

The best thing that ever happened to these rabbits was there rescue.

[burningbird]

01:35 PM on 09/11/2011

"their" not "there"

[forkchronicles]

09:52 AM on 08/27/2011

Maybe we should consider what is in the best interests of the animals. Maybe only those who need immediate vet care should be seized, and maybe those that are still healthy but living in "deplorable" conditions could stay while the owner and her helpers improve conditions. If the animals environment can be made safe in just a few hours, maybe this would be less stressful on the animals. Maybe instead of a "raid", a few days could be spent with the owner trying to find alternative placements for the healthy ones, which would save tax payer money and, again be less stressful for the animals. Maybe these "raids" are done as they are, with the news media in tow, to be free advertisements for the shelters (where the vets who authorize these raids often work)--who use them to beg for more money. Maybe these "raids" are not in the best interests of the animals after all...

[twoto2]

07:10 AM on 08/24/2011

To all of those who don't care.....How would you like to live in sh^t???

[Haylei Bruno]

07:32 PM on 08/21/2011

"Bell’s attorney, Elizabeth Kearney, is going to fight the charges against her client, claiming that Bell’s rabbits should be considered livestock, not pets, and that Jefferson County Sherrif’s are incorrectly enforcing standards for domesticated animals, according to The Denver Post."

Why should that matter?! Rabbits are rabbits, their title as either livestock or pets shouldn't determine whether they are treated with respect or not. What is wrong with people? This is just plain ridiculous. It is obvious to see that this lady is guilty just by looking at the photos. There was definitely neglect involved.

[burningbird]

10:31 AM on 08/22/2011

She wasn't charged with operating without a license. She was charged with animal neglect and cruelty. You're right, it shouldn't matter if the rabbits were being bred as meat or pets.

Bell's lawyer is just trying to find a way out from the under all the evidence.

[thorrsman]

12:23 AM on 08/20/2011

Of course, being local to this story, I've heard the OTHER side, which is NOT presented here. Overzealous animal control officer WITHOUT a search warrent hunting for an excuse to get a warrent, responding to a tip from a tipster who was PAID for that tip. Law enforcement officials who threatened Bell with jail for videotaping their actions while "inspecting" the rabbit ranch, which makes an independant thinker wonder what they are afraid such a video would show. A couple hundred photos taken by the cops, but only about a dozen released to the press, the rest suppressed so the public could only see what the animal control people WANTED them to see.

The majority of what is alleged by the cops is denied by the owner, who is well known in rabbit-raising circles as a champion breeder and who has been the "go-to" person for the news media on rabbit-breeding questions for a long time.

Who is telling the truth? Who do you trust?

[Candide33]

12:33 AM on 08/20/2011

look at the pictures .... it is plain and simple..... the cops are right and the person who did this to the rabbits is a monster.

[Laurella Desborough]

08:44 PM on 09/09/2011

Nope. What SHOULD be done in all animal cases is that the CONDITION of the animals should be the deciding factor in all animal removal cases. AND the only animals that should be removed are those in immediate threat of trauma or death. The reason is that ALL critters are greatly stressed by these seizures; the inept handling by strangers, the transport time, the inappropriate housing in the new environment, the incorrect diet offered in a way or manner which the animals do not readily accept the food. In many of these seizures based on allegations of abuse, there is a definite goal on the part of the seizing authority: selling the animals, getting more donations, and eliminating another animal breeder (the goal of many animal rights oriented humane societies and some animal control agencies). Therefore, one should maintain a suspicious attitude about every animal seizure. In far too many cases the seizing agencies only show photos with stuff that is sure to horrify anyone who is a pet owner or city dweller. In some cases, these seizing officials will even create a nasty scene by emptying garbage cans and spreading garbage around so it shows in the photos. In some cases the seizing authorities manage to kill a few of the animals they are supposedly "rescuing" because they are not trained in proper removal of the species. These cases might correctly be labeled...THEFT under color of law.

[asta1968]

12:53 AM on 08/20/2011

All those qualities and lazy too......................

[trishamine]

11:28 PM on 08/19/2011

Those poor bunnies, now there's an animal that really wouldn't hurt anyone so why do that to them??

[Annette Hammond]

06:41 PM on 08/19/2011

Even if they are NOT kept as pets,the rabbits should be treated with dignity.

[asta1968]

12:51 AM on 08/20/2011

Exactly!

[giftsthatpurr]

01:51 PM on 08/20/2011

Absolutely!

[Sammie55]

03:41 PM on 08/19/2011

Jail time.
Jail time, the signing over of every animal in her "care".. AND the confiscation of any and all assetts needed to pay for the care and adoption of the rabbits.

[thorrsman]

12:24 AM on 08/20/2011

On allegations that are still unproven?

[Candide33]

12:35 AM on 08/20/2011

oh really? can you not see the pictures in this article.... it is not an allegation... it is a fact!

[HHUA]

12:41 AM on 08/20/2011

"unproven"? Did you read this article in braille?

[Sammie55]

03:29 PM on 08/19/2011

Absolutely disgusting...

[asta1968]

11:55 AM on 08/19/2011

BS!

If they were so important, being used for research or prize animals why were they kept in such conditions?

She's disgusting.........if a person would treat an animal like this then they'd have to problem doing it to a helpless human being.

[thorrsman]

12:25 AM on 08/20/2011

THey were NOT being kept in poor conditions. You really need to hear BOTH sides of the story before making up your mind, not listen only to cherry-picked "facts" from one side.

[asta1968]

11:56 AM on 08/19/2011

No researcher EVER walked into that shed.

[LisaCACO]

10:54 PM on 08/18/2011

btw, rabbits don't belong in cages. we have only one now (she's our last one left). our oldest lived to be 11.5 years old and he was a house bunny. she has more than 800 sq ft to roam and have a blast. her "cage" is a split level 4ft long home with open doors so she comes and goes as she pleases. bunnies can be potty trained and she uses a cat pan. she's a rescue and is living life to the fullest at ~10 years old. For more information on house rabbits, check out www.rabbit.org.

[mama likes mambo]

05:24 PM on 08/19/2011

That is wonderful your rabbits have lived that long, mine have lived as old as 10 yrs. Rabbits are simply the best most rewarding pets in the world. Once you have a rabbit where the rabbit is allowed to run free and not caged and treated like a dog or cat, it's impossible to not have bunnies in your life.

[Alexis Elizabeth Drob]

03:04 PM on 08/20/2011

I used to have a cute little black and white rabbit, his name was jamie and he was broken to a litter box. He was the most loveable bunny. He had his own little table and we used to put his dishes on it and sometimes even left veggies and fruits on it for him to eat whenever he wanted to. He had a ramp next to our bed so he could get in bed with us at night. WE went out of our way to make his life as stress free and happy as much as we could. He lived to be about 5 years old. Someone stoled him from my parents house. We found out later that a so called friend killed him and ate. I hate an despise that person to this day. Point being, There is nothing more rewarding than raising a rabit as a pet/member of the family. There is no reason for any animal to be foreced to live in such conditions as this heartless ho did to these bunnies.

[thorrsman]

12:27 AM on 08/20/2011

These are not "pets". These rabbits are bred for 4-H use, shows, meat and fur.

[Candide33]

12:43 AM on 08/20/2011

Oh so it is ok to abuse them? NOT!

[HHUA]

12:44 AM on 08/20/2011

You're not a "pet" either, perhaps you should be forced to sleep in your feces!

Are you really THIS ignorant or do you happen to work for this woman?

[LisaCACO]

10:47 PM on 08/18/2011

horrible. couldn't finish looking at the photos. just sick.

[unique]

09:39 PM on 08/18/2011

This woman should be kept
for six months in the same conditions
she kept the rabbits.

[AP209]

10:32 AM on 08/19/2011

more like for the rest of her life.

[jl4141]

12:50 PM on 08/19/2011

Interesting choice for a haiku.

[burningbird]

09:21 PM on 08/18/2011

There is nothing "normal" about the condition of these rabbits and their cages. Rabbits are not that dirty. And they certainly need more than a tiny little hole of a building that looks like it's cleaned once a month...if that.

The place was filthy. That the owner is supposedly an "expert" just makes the condition of the rabbits that much worse.

[AnarchyintheAK]

08:55 PM on 08/22/2011

As a rabbit breeder that raises for pet, 4-H and meat, I also find the conditions depicted deplorable. I keep rabbits in similar triple stack all wire cages, but they are clean, with LOTS of ventilation, fresh clean water at all times and food and diet planned carefully for optimal nutrition and condition.

Honestly, if an angora were brought to me in the condition depicted, it would not have been made to suffer for more than a few minutes before either being shaved down, euthanized, or both. (I doubt even a raptor would know what to do with those hair balls.)

I find it depressing that my colleagues are defending Ms. Bell so adamantly and blindly. I, personally, do not wish to be associated with her and pending a guilty verdict at trial, I hope ARBA suspends her membership indefinitely as at least one note that we as a group do not find these conditions "normal" or "acceptable" nor do we wish anyone that perpetuates such conditions to be considered a go-to expert for future generations of rabbit breeders.

Even if it is revealed that Ms. Bell's Constitutional rights were not granted, I can not stand up or make excuses for this person as a rabbit owner, though I will defend her rights to the end. I think even proper procedure would have removed these rabbits, and I'm not at all sure that proper procedure was not followed, as so many seem to claim.

[Laurella Desborough]

09:21 PM on 09/09/2011

So, you think that removing the rabbits from a facility with cool air and moving them to an UN cooled fairgrounds site is an improvement? You think putting the rabbits in containers where they sat in their urine and feces was an improvement? That was what happened. That is the kind of thing that happens when someone who TAKES an animal knows zip about its proper care. Feces in a cage with a wire floor is one thing. Feces in a cage where the floor is solid is another. That was the last place the rabbits ended up. Oh, and the agency is busy sterilizing them.
Guess they don't want any more baby rabbits born...sounds like animal rights to me.

[GGSS2020]

07:01 PM on 08/18/2011

This is horrible!