posted July 23, 2010 12:33 AM         

At first sight, dog walker Penny Kent blamed the gory mess on a coyote.

The St. Catharines woman came across the mangled carcass of a large rabbit in the parking lot of Happy Rolph's Bird Sanctuary and Petting Zoo abut 6 a.m. Tuesday while setting out on a walk with her dog.

She continued on, thinking nature had simply taken its course at the park in the city's north end.

"I didn't really think anything of it, because they do have coyotes down there," she recounted later in the afternoon

It wasn't until she ran into a staff member at the city-run park a short time later that she learned the disturbing truth about her gruesome discovery.

Kent said the worker explained the mutilated bunny she'd found was among a handful of small animals deliberately slaughtered by intruders sometime Monday night or early Tuesday morning at the popular petting zoo.

Niagara Regional Police said four animals were killed during a bloody break-in at Happy Rolph's and "numerous" others were shot with pellets and BBs from air guns.

The injured animals are recovering well, the Lincoln County Humane Society said.

Police believe the culprits also stole a baby goat from the park when they left.

Investigators and city officials aren't releasing specific details about what kinds of animals were killed or how they died, in hopes the information will help them identify suspects.

But a number of independent sources told The Standard the dead animals included rabbits and chickens, and that they were treated with appalling cruelty

At least one large rabbit was decapitated and its head was mounted on a stake, according to the sources.

"It almost seems like it was some kind of (ritualistic) thing," said one man, who asked not to be named.

Kent said the disfigured rabbit she and her dog found appeared to have no fur left on its body.

"It was very nasty, very nasty," she said.

"It's a horrible thing, and I'm just sick."

Employees at the 15-acre park on the shores of Lake Ontario were stunned by the carnage that awaited them when they arrived for work Tuesday morning.

"It's total shock, disgust — unbelievable. It's almost incomprehensible," parks and recreation director Rick Lane said.

Even police officers had a hard time trying to fathom the senseless violence unleashed on captive animals.

"It's very disturbing," NRP spokesman Const. Nilan Dave said. "This isn't your normal couple kids shooting animals — as wrong as that is — with pellet guns. It's way beyond that."

Dave said investigators believe at least two people are responsible for the spree.

"They found numerous bottles of beer that were set up and appeared to be used for target practice, so alcohol is believed to have been a factor," he said.

Vandals have occasionally hit Happy Rolph's over the years, letting animals out of their enclosures, but none have been injured or killed previously, said Jim Benson, the city's manager of parks and facilities.

The city contracts a private security firm to monitor the park at different times, but whoever attacked the animals Monday night or Tuesday morning went undetected.

"They hit us at a weak moment," Benson said.

The city will increase security provisions to prevent similar incidents, but it also wants to try to preserve public access to the park, Lane said.

"We don't ever want to lose that. There still is this sense of innocence there when children come in and they're close to animals," he said.

"We want to make sure that this wonderful jewel that we have available remains intact."

The park, which operates from Victoria Day until the Thanksgiving weekend, was closed for the morning Tuesday while police and Lincoln County Humane Society officers investigated the crime scene. It reopened shortly before noon.

Parents visiting the park with their kids over the lunch hour were alarmed to hear of the cruelty inflicted on the animals the night before.

"That's awful," said Anna Neufeld, who dropped by the park for the second day in a row with her sister-in-law and her two young kids.

"We were just trying to look at the chickens, and I was wondering where all the chickens went."

Neufeld said the empty chicken enclosure held about a half-dozen birds the previous day. Only three rabbits hopped around in their large pen.

North end resident Kathy Gandza said she's hopeful police catch the culprits responsible quickly.

"It's upsetting, because this is here for families and kids to enjoy," she said, as husband Derek and their two children stopped to check out the goats.

Police ask anyone with information about the animal deaths to contact investigators at 905-688-4111, ext. 4380, the Lincoln County Humane Society at 906-682-0767 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

pdowns@stcatharinesstandard.ca