Woman sentenced for killing, eating pet hamster: ‘Abhorrent’

A woman who claims she was addicted to drugs has been jailed for 12 months for cutting up and eating her hamster in sickening videos shared on social media.

A UK judge handed down a prison sentence this week for Emma Parker, 39, describing the act as “abhorrent”.

Footage posted on Facebook in May 2022 shows Parker killing her daughter’s pet, named Mr. Nibbles, while laughter is heard in the background.

“Two videos viewed on social media showed the defendant with a hamster in a hamster ball,” prosecutor Gordon Holt told the court in Lincolnshire, England, according to media reports.

“The defendant is holding the ball with the knife in his other hand,” he continued. “She takes the knife and plunges it through the opening of the ball, moving the knife from side to side.”

Emma Parker, 39, has been jailed for 12 months after she was filmed cutting up and eating her daughter’s rodent, Mr. Nibbles, in sick video shared on the Internet.

“A spectator can be heard laughing and saying, ‘You’re a sick bastard,'” Holt claimed.

The English woman admitted killing and eating Mr Nibbles, pleading guilty to one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. She reportedly told police she was helping the hamster die after it was bitten by one of her dogs.

Judge James House admonished Parker for cutting the hamster in half while it was still alive, before “eating the two halves of the cut hamster”.

He said it was “disgusting” that violence had been inflicted on a vulnerable animal.

According to the Mirror, a vet testified that she had seen the footage and had not heard a hamster screech like Mr. Nibbles during her 27-year career.

After the clips were uploaded to social media, a concerned viewer reported the incident to animal welfare charity the RSPCA, prompting an investigation.

The court was told Parker had been under the influence of a drug dealer.

Parker declined to reveal the identity of the people who filmed the footage, explaining, “They’re not good people.”

Parker claimed Mr Nibbles was injured after being bitten by her dog earlier in the day. iStockphoto

Since her arrest, Parker says her home has been vandalized and dog poop has been smeared on her mailbox. She also complained of burns on her body in a recent car accident.

But the judge had no mercy for Parker, handing him a 12-month prison sentence and banning him from owning a pet for 15 years.

After the verdict, RSPCA inspector Andy Bostock told the BBC: “We share the public’s disgust at this horrific incident and would like to thank the police for their support in this investigation.”

He continued: “It has been distressing and upsetting for everyone involved in this case.”