A man has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after admitting to brutally killing his girlfriend’s pet rabbit in front of her as part of a campaign of abuse.
Belahouel A admitted forcing his horrified partner to hold the rabbit by its legs before killing the animal. He then smeared its blood on her face and cooked the rabbit, while allegedly trying to make her eat it.
The court in Valencia heard that Belahouel told his girlfriend during the ordeal: “This is how you learn, this is your lesson.”
The abuse reportedly took place at the couple’s home in Monserrat, Valencia, after Belahouel became enraged when his partner accidentally spat on him while blowing hair from clippers.
Before killing the rabbit, he allegedly tied the woman up, brandished a knife and threatened to throw her onto a chimney. On another occasion, he reportedly punched her in the nose after accusing her of “talking too much”.
Prosecutors had initially sought a 12-year prison sentence, but the eventual sentence was reduced after a plea agreement and because Belahouel had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The court also imposed a 24-year restraining order preventing him from going within 1,000 metres of his victim and ordered him to pay her £2,900 (about €3,420) in compensation.
The case follows other incidents involving domestic abuse and the killing of pets. In 2021, a British man was jailed after killing his son’s rabbit and throwing its severed head at his ex-partner before attempting to cook the animal.
In another case in 2023, Nicholas Metson was sentenced to 19 years in prison for murdering his wife, Holly Bramley, after previously killing her puppy and hamsters.
