Eaten alive by maggots (Death of yound rabbit, Kinaatsu) by Sayaaka (@her.name.is.mercedes)

severe injury on right side of her face

6/25/26

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the veterinarian and staff who provided medical care for Kinatsu, the critically ill young rabbit.

Please be advised that the photos starting from the third image are distressing and graphic; please view them with caution.

Some of you may be considering reporting this situation. However, this is a reality stemming from the fact that humans fail to properly care for these rabbits—using them for tourism and treating them as disposable—so I ask that you please refrain from reporting this lightly.

We are raising this issue in the hope of finding a way to eliminate or at least reduce the number of rabbits suffering in this manner.

I ask everyone to please empathize with the pain and suffering of the island rabbits exploited for human entertainment. We appreciate your understanding.

When I emailed the attending veterinarian around 10:00 PM the day before yesterday (the 23rd), I was informed that the little rabbit had passed away moments earlier, slipping away peacefully as if falling asleep.

Even after evening consultations had ended, the vet kept a close watch on her, ensuring above all else that she would not suffer in pain while alone.

Hearing that the vet was there with her at the very end was heartbreaking, yet knowing she departed while being watched over by a medical professional made me feel that her life was treated with dignity; that thought became my only source of solace.

Even after she arrived in Kobe from Hiroshima on the 23rd and we prepared to treat her, it was immediately apparent that her condition was critical.

From the moment the vet examined her, we saw that tissue from her cheek—or somewhere on her face—had sloughed off, and a mass of maggots was teeming inside the detached fragment. @tokidokitabini, who had rescued her before she was transported to us, had already noticed this and brought the fragment along; seeing it made me realize—even as a layperson—just how severe her condition was, and I was overcome with anxiety.

Before being rescued, the rabbit had already been chased by other rabbits and was reportedly in a very weakened state; yet, even then, it was trying hard to eat on its own.

Learning that rabbits desperately try to act energetic to avoid showing any signs of weakness—even in such a condition—filled me with such pity; I was deeply moved by its brave, spirited nature, which made its plight seem all the more heartbreaking.

A few hours later, the veterinarian contacted me via email. They explained that—while the exact origin of the initial wound near the ear was unclear—it had become infected and festered; the resulting odor had attracted flies that laid eggs in the wound, leading to an infestation of countless maggots of various sizes that were devouring the tissue.

The maggots had burrowed not only into the right side of the face where the wound began but also deep into the neck muscles, exposing blood vessels and bone; the vet noted that it was impossible to determine exactly how much of the internal organs had already been consumed.

The nurse treating the animal remarked that no matter how many maggots were removed during the disinfection process, more kept emerging from within the body.

I realized that the peculiar odor present since the initial examination was the smell of the body being destroyed and rotting from the inside out by countless maggots while the animal was still alive. By then, 90% of the skin and tissue surrounding the affected area had already been lost.

I was informed that the chances of survival were extremely slim and that regenerating the necrotic skin and muscle was not feasible. After being told the animal likely had only three days left to live, I returned to the hospital.

When I visited again, the animal was in such a critical state that even drawing blood was impossible, and it could no longer stand.

I trembled with an anger that had nowhere to go.

All I could do was feel furious at my own helplessness...

The only thing I could do was stroke this tiny body—wasting away while still alive—

hoping with all my heart to spare it any further suffering.

I felt strongly that it is wrong to use rabbits in this way for human entertainment.

Had it been found just two weeks earlier—before the maggots hatched—it might have been saved.

I cannot fathom the agony of living while being eaten alive by maggots.

I cannot even imagine the pain endured by Kiki-chan—who survived despite having her face trampled and her eardrums crushed along with the surrounding bone.

I feel nothing but intense indignation at the reality of her being left to such a fate.

Had she been rescued during the winter, she might have survived. I have learned that a delay in rescue during this season condemns an animal to a life of being consumed by maggots, and I have witnessed firsthand just how excruciating that suffering is.

I cannot help but feel that Kinatsu-chan appeared before us specifically to convey this message.

@tokidokitabini, who rescued her out of a desperate desire to save her, has also been deeply shocked by the situation.

Whenever we seek medical care for the island's rabbits, we invariably find their conditions to be far more severe than anticipated; these rabbits have risked their very lives to teach us that the notion of "Island Kid Power"—an idea that they are somehow naturally resilient—is simply a myth.

I wanted to share this reality with all of you, which is why I have posted these images.

If a young rabbit—at an age when it would naturally be at its most adorable—sustains an injury for any reason, it becomes an animal of no use to tourism; ignored by everyone, it is left with no choice but to suffer from loneliness and starvation until it dies.

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I intend to write a letter to the Mayor of Takehara City to make him aware of this reality.

My sincere hope is not to cast blame, but simply to ensure that the facts are known.