Calling the offender\u2019s conduct \u201crepugnant, shocking and inconceivable,\u201d a Calgary judge on Friday handed a convicted serial rabbit killer an eight-year prison term.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Calgary Court of King\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
During sentencing submissions a month ago, Greenwood said Weseen\u2019s crimes would justify a sentence as high as 16 years, but argued for a 10-year term<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bourque didn\u2019t go that high, saying collectively Weseen\u2019s offences would draw a sentence of 13 years before reducing it for totality.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n The judge detailed the horrific acts Weseen inflicted on several rabbits in his care, four he\u2019d named, Smokey, Loki, Henry and Chloe, as well as others that were never named.<\/p>\n In some instances, he castrated the animals without any sedatives and cut another open to see if she was pregnant.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cA CSO is not available for these types of crimes \u2026 for brutal, violent attacks on animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bourque agreed, noting there were multiple aggravating factors to warrant a harsh sentence.<\/p>\n \u2018Animals are no longer viewed as chattels\u2019<\/p>\n Among those were \u201cthe brutality of the violence,\u201d \u201cthe breach of trust,\u201d Weseen committed towards his pets, and the fact \u201cthe rabbits\u2019 pain and suffering was extensive.\u201d<\/p>\n The judge said courts have clearly recognized \u201canimal cruelty offences are crimes of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnimals are no longer viewed as chattels.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my view the letter contains general expressions of regret,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, it\u2019s dominant theme is the impact on the offender himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Weseen was convicted June 28, 2025, of torturing and killing more than a dozen rabbits<\/a>, 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 \u201ckinda like playing God.\u201d<\/p>\n With credit for remand time he spent following his conviction, he\u2019ll have about 79 months left to serve, Bourque said.<\/p>\n