Woman on Trial Over Care of Rabbits

Norma Catherine Keyzers, an Ojai woman whose profound interest in rabbits left her homeless and living in a van, is on trial for allegedly neglecting 90 of the fuzzy-eared animals.

The 60--year-old woman was arrested June 20 by Ventura County Humane Society officers after they found her at an Oxnard barn with 70 rabbits in poor condition. Another 20 rabbits lived with her in her van.

In his opening statement, Deputy Public Defender Leslie Daniels said his client loved and cared for her animals, and that she tried to get them help.

“This is not a case of a woman who let her rabbits run amok,” Daniels said. “This is about a woman who tried to help. She took on a huge responsibility with these rabbits and the burden multiplied. She did her level best and her level best was OK.”

But prosecutors said the animals were in horrific condition. The barn was dark and the rabbits lived in small cages, they said. “Their necks were bent, their legs didn’t function, they couldn’t walk,” testified Tammy Morris, owner of Second Chance Ranch in Santa Paula, which rescues abused and neglected animals. “They could just roll around in circles.”

A veterinarian called to the scene euthanized 18 rabbits immediately. Another 59 rabbits were put down later, prosecutors said.

Before her arrest, Keyzers had given Morris 141 other bunnies. “She said she had no place else to go with her rabbits,” Morris said. “She said she was having a hard time keeping them where she lives so I picked them up.”

Where all the rabbits came from is still unknown. Prosecutors said Keyzers was evicted from her Ojai home for keeping so many rabbits.

A volunteer at the ranch called the Humane Society.

During the trial, Keyzers sat quietly. But when testimony about euthanizing her rabbits began, she bent over and began sobbing. “It was so unnecessary,” she yelled.

If convicted of failing to provide proper care to an animal, a misdemeanor, Keyzers faces six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.