ADORABLE pet rabbits were abandoned by their owner and left to die on open moorland. The rabbits, rescued by an RSPCA member, were in effect being given a sentence of death, the charity said. The rabbits, two adults and up to three babies, were found by the side of the road to Milton Combe, on Roborough Down, by Sylvia Marriot, an RSPCA member who lives near Yelverton. She said: ?I was out walking the dog when I saw the first one in some brambles. We finally caught it that night, after dark. ?The following day we saw a baby one which we caught, there was another adult that we couldn?t catch and we found another dead baby.? Sylvia said the baby rabbit was ?very thin? and obviously weak. ?It was very tiny to be out in the open ? and we?d had a terrific hailstorm that day as well. The first one I saw, the crows were mobbing him and he was obviously petrified. ?It sounds awful but to be honest it would have been far kinder to have taken them to the vet to be put to sleep, than to have dumped them out in the wet and cold.? Sylvia took the rabbits to the RSPCA vets at Milehouse, where they are being treated and neutered before hopefully being re-homed. Jo Barr, spokesman for the RSPCA, said: ?Many people wrongly believe that by releasing their pet rabbit into the wild they are doing it a favour, but they are actually giving it a death sentence. ?Domestic rabbits are not able to fend for themselves and they make easy targets for predatory animals and pet dogs.? Ms Barr said it was illegal to abandon an animal in a manner likely to cause suffering. In this case, the rabbits were white Lionheads, a distinctive show breed with a longer ?mane? of fur around their heads. Anyone with information about the owner of the rabbits dumped on Roborough Down is urged to contact the RSPCA cruelty line on 08705 555 999. All calls are treated in strict confidence.