Recent Animal Cruelty Discovered in Newton Centre

Neighbors in Newton Centre recently discovered a maimed rabbit in their bushes this past Sunday morning. There was an 18" long aluminum fluorescent orange hunting arrow impaled through its entire hind area. It was alive and hiding in bushes. They did not try to capture the animal, as the did not want to hurt it any further. The Newton Centre residents immediately called Animal Control (closed on Sunday) then 911 and police arrived 5 minutes later to discuss this horrific act. They said that in Massachusetts, acts of animal cruelty, such as this, warrants up to 5 years imprisonment. One resident noted that while gardening this summer, she found the same exact arrow in her garden. The police walked the neighborhood and questioned some of the neighbors and said they will be on alert in this area for anyone suspicious of harming neighborhood animals and will not think twice about prosecuting to the full extent of the law. One neighbor questioned said "That arrow could have killed my 4 year old playing in the yard!" "This is not the first time I heard of someone finding a maimed animal with an arrow in this neighborhood". The streets specifically being targeted by local officials are Rowena Rd, Rotherwood Rd and Allerton St.

The police followed up with the neighbors who discovered the hurt animal and said they saw nothing suspicious at this point. The rabbit was gone before they could get someone to come and save it. The neighbors continued to look extensively, to no avail.

If you see anything suspicious, please call the local Newton Centre police (617) 796-2100 to report it, as this event is now on file and that animal abuse is nothing to turn a blind eye to.