DEAD rabbits from Ilkley Cemetery are to be examined by council officials to discover what killed them.

Fears that someone could have been poisoning the rabbits have prompted the investigation after visitors spotted bodies lying about on the ground.

Sheila Green, of Wharfe View, Ilkley, said she had seen dead rabbits lying around when walking her dog through the cemetery. "They were all young rabbits. It is very upsetting when you are fond of animals," said Miss Green.

Parish councillor Lexa Robinson said cemetery officials were worried about whether the animals had been poisoned or had died naturally.

However, other people who had seen dead rabbits in the cemetery had put the cause of death down to the virus myxomatosis which was said to be rife in the Ilkley area.

Concerns have been raised about the fate of the rabbits because of a recent incident when a man was seen shooting the animals with an air rifle.

Grieving mother Sarah Robinson, who took comfort from the sight of rabbits playing near her baby daughter's grave, was horrified to see them shot to death.

She told the Gazette that she had been appalled to see a man killing the animals with an air rifle when she went to Ilkley Cemetery on a Sunday evening in June.

Rabbits have been in abundance in the area this year and have been upsetting some grieving relatives by eating flowers and wreaths from the graves.

Opinion is divided on the issue with some people happy to see the animals hopping about the graves, whereas others are annoyed about the damage caused.

Local florists are even offering advice to mourners about what flowers to put on wreaths to make them less attractive to the voracious animals.

Cemetery bosses had promised to step up patrols to prevent a repeat of the shooting incident.

Now they will try to discover if someone has been putting poison down to reduce the rabbit population.

Coun Robinson said: "It seems strange they have been dying so soon after the shooting incident but I am keeping an open mind at this stage."