Vegan activist who rescued 16 rabbits killed nearly 100 more in the process

A vegan activist who claims she was attacked while rescuing 16 rabbits from the farm has been accused of causing the deaths of nearly 100 rabbits in the process, a report says.

According to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, an activist by the name of Mythical Mia conducted an alleged rescue mission on a farm near Osono.

During the retrieval of the 16 rabbits, five pregnant bunnies about to give birth were killed in the process while others were left with broken spines, the paper reports, citing an assessment from a local veterinarian.

A number of the rabbits "rescued" were either pregnant or lactating. They had about 90 young most of which had to be euthanised after being abandoned.

The mother bunnies that got left behind but survived were reportedly forced to have abortions.

Mia, whose real name is unknown, posted a video on her Instagram page last week "documenting" the bloody aftermath of her rabbit rescue.

"This is what has just happened to us, look, I'm documenting the whole thing," the Barcelona-based activist says in the video posted to Instagram earlier this week.

"I'm covered in blood. This is what the farmers have done. They shot through our window and chased us down the motorway. Oh my God, I'm literally covered in blood."

In the post's caption, the woman wrote, "Today we entered a rabbit farm and rescued 16 lives. The farmer was extremely aggressive and attacked us, strangling activists and smashing their heads with metal poles."

She said police came and "told us to leave peacefully, which we did", but "after we left the farmers chased us down the motorway at 200km/h for an hour".

"We tried to lose them down a side road but they were on our tails," she said.

"They blocked us into a dead end and surround the car with five other farmers' cars. They were banging on the windows, shouting and threatening us. We called the police who arrived after an hour. They diffused the situation and escorted us to a 'safe place'."

"They let us go and 10 minutes later back on the motorway one of their cars pulled up alongside us and shot at us," she said.

"The window exploded in my face and there was a lot of blood from all the glass. We're currently at the hospital and waiting to go to the police station to report this crime."

The woman has since raised $1220 (€710) on online fundraiser GoFundMe to pay for "vet bills, sanctuary costs including transportation, bedding, food etc".

"Due to the filthy conditions that rabbits were living in, many of them have injuries, infections, parasites, E. cuniculi etc. Anything that you can contribute to these costs would be so greatly appreciated," the page says.

Mia provided an update on her social media account, saying she had to leave thousands of mothers and babies behind.

"After actions like this we get to go home but for them there is no way out. We only managed to find a home for 16 beforehand, so had to leave thousands of mothers and babies behind.

"They will be trapped inside those cages for their entire lives, their only escape is when they are shipped off to a slaughterhouse to be murdered for their flesh and fur. Rabbits like these are also abused for animal testing, tortured for a lifetime before eventually getting murdered too. They are also regularly kept as 'pets' often in solitary confinement and inappropriate conditions suffering from boredom and multiple other health issues."