Italian teacher sacked for killing two rabbits in class

Professor Carlo Rando sparked outrage in 2010 when he brought four rabbits into the class at Milan’s Molinari technical college, killing the two who were still alive with a hammer in front of his horrified students.

The Court of Cassation upheld a 2013 ruling by an appeals court in Milan saying that he must be dismissed because of the “serious act of cruelty” and his “abnormal” behaviour, especially in the presence of minors, Il Messaggero reported.

The professor said he had bought the four rabbits, two alive, from a butcher, something the court also said was an “anomalous procedure for the purchase of laboratory animals”.

In a case that drew widespread condemnation from animal rights' groups, and also sparked debate in parliament, it also emerged that the teacher had performed blood tests on students.

The court said the teacher was “grossly negligent” for bringing material of “unclear origin” to the college and for performing blood tests on students in “bad hygienic conditions”, therefore risking their health.

He was also condemned for the bad publicity his acts had brought to the college.

In a similar case last year, parents and students at a school in Austria called for a biology teacher, who bred animals, to be fired after killing two rabbits in front of his class.