Man denies throwing rabbit into River Liffey

A Dublin man accused of throwing a homeless man’s pet rabbit into the River Liffey has pleaded not guilty to an animal cruelty and torture charge.

John Byrne, aged 39, who had spent the previous 22 years living on the streets, had been sitting on O’Connell Bridge for 10 days when his pet rabbit Barney was thrown into the Liffey, on Jul 3, 2011.

Hundreds watched as Mr Byrne risked his own life and went into the river to save Barney; both were subsequently rescued by the Dublin Fire Brigade. His rescue of the rabbit was captured on video and went viral online, with clips on YouTube getting tens of thousands of hits.