A community in New South Wales, Australia is shocked and disgusted by a senseless act of cruelty towards guinea pigs stolen from the local zoo by a group of reckless youths. Nine of the ten cavies remain missing and one is recovering from injuries after being kicked from a moving vehicle.

Local police say four or five male youths, described to be about 17 years of age, caucasian, and wearing hooded jumpers, broke into The Wagga Wagga Botanical Gardens Zoo after dark on on Friday, May 25 and cut the fence to the guinea pig enclosure. Witnesses then reported seeing the teens driving a white sedan and showing off along Baylis Street as late as midnight. For reasons unknown, they kicked one of the stolen guinea pigs from the moving vehicle around 11:45pm.

Twenty year old Andrew Barron was one of the witnesses who saw the teens with the guinea pigs. “They actually kicked it out of the moving car and it was bleeding everywhere from a cut,” Barron told The Daily Advertiser. “A girl on the street was mortified and she had blood all over her jumper from picking it up and she’s taken it home to look after.”

According to detectives, the injured guinea pig has survived with minor injuries. The whereabouts of the remaining nine guinea pigs or their condition is currently unknown. Anyone with information is urged to contact Wagga police at 6922 2599.

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