Youth admits throwing rabbit in Liffey

A youth has pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty and torture charge after a homeless man’s pet rabbit was thrown into Dublin’s River Liffey last year.

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 he risked his life and went into the river to save Barney; both were rescued by the Dublin Fire Brigade. His rescue of the rabbit was filmed and went viral on the internet with clips on YouTube getting tens of thousands of hits.