Pet rabbit was starved to death

Martin will be sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court in May

A woman has admitted starving her pet rabbit after its maggot-ridden remains were discovered in a hutch in her garden.

Lynsey McMartin, from Whins of Milton, near Stirling, told animal welfare officers that the pet had died after she went on a weekend trip.

A post-mortem examination revealed the animal was severely emaciated.

Stirling sheriff Andrew Cubie deferred sentence on Martin until May to allow her to appear in court in person.

The court heard that welfare officials from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) were called to McMartin's home.

When they arrived they found the animal dead inside its hutch.

McMartin claimed she had left a friend to look after the animal when she went away for the weekend.

Gail Russell, prosecuting, said: "The body of the rabbit, a female, was infested with maggots, showing it had been dead for some time.

"The post-mortem indicated it had been deprived of food."

Through her solicitor, Frazer McCready, McMartin pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the rabbit between 26 September 2008 and 1 October 2008 by omitting to provide it with wholesome nutrition.