Calling the offender’s conduct “repugnant, shocking and inconceivable,” a Calgary judge on Friday handed a convicted serial rabbit killer an eight-year prison term.
Nicholas Weseen showed no outward emotion as Justice Michel Bourque found the community-based sentence sought by his lawyer was not a fit punishment for his crimes.
Instead, the Calgary Court of King’s Bench judge agreed with Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood that a lengthy stint in a federal penitentiary was warranted for Weseen, who tortured and killed multiple rabbits in his Forest Lawn basement suite.
During sentencing submissions a month ago, Greenwood said Weseen’s crimes would justify a sentence as high as 16 years, but argued for a 10-year term.
Bourque didn’t go that high, saying collectively Weseen’s offences would draw a sentence of 13 years before reducing it for totality.
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The judge detailed the horrific acts Weseen inflicted on several rabbits in his care, four he’d named, Smokey, Loki, Henry and Chloe, as well as others that were never named.
In some instances, he castrated the animals without any sedatives and cut another open to see if she was pregnant.
Defence counsel Obehi Ekatah had sought a conditional sentence order which would be served in the community, but Bourque agreed with Greenwood that would be an insufficient punishment.
Greenwood had argued a conditional sentence order would not reflect the seriousness of the crimes of animal cruelty to be, as determined by the Alberta Court of Appeal.
“A CSO is not available for these types of crimes … for brutal, violent attacks on animals,” she said.
Bourque agreed, noting there were multiple aggravating factors to warrant a harsh sentence.
‘Animals are no longer viewed as chattels’
Among those were “the brutality of the violence,” “the breach of trust,” Weseen committed towards his pets, and the fact “the rabbits’ pain and suffering was extensive.”
The judge said courts have clearly recognized “animal cruelty offences are crimes of violence.”
“Animals are no longer viewed as chattels.”
Bourque said a letter of apology written by Weseen and an oral statement he gave in court, showed some signs of regret, but not true remorse.
“In my view the letter contains general expressions of regret,” he said.
“However, it’s dominant theme is the impact on the offender himself.”
Weseen was convicted June 28, 2025, of torturing and killing more than a dozen rabbits, including three found in a storage room in his home and two others discovered in the trash behind his residence. In a police interview following his Jan. 22, 2023, arrest, Weseen said hurting the animals was “kinda like playing God.”
With credit for remand time he spent following his conviction, he’ll have about 79 months left to serve, Bourque said.
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