ANIMAL lovers are furious that rabbits have been killed because of worries that footballers could hurt themselves.

Swale Council called in a pest control company following complaints about the number of holes the animals make at the Seager Road sports pitch in Sheerness.

The field is used by football clubs, including T’s Leisure, Sheerness Conservative Club and Tonics Fitness Centre.

But residents were angered when the contractors turned up at the council-owned pitch on Monday and used ferrets and gas to kill the animals.

Christine Snody, who walks past the field every day, said: “I think it’s disgusting. The field is only used for a couple of hours on a Sunday. Even with ferrets they will die a horrible death.”

Another man, who did not want to be named, said: “There are lots of animal lovers on the island and I think they would be shocked to know this was going on. I can’t see the point of gassing the rabbits at this time of year.”

A spokesman from Swale council said: “We have had a large number of complaints over the summer and especially into the football season about the state of the pitch with the rabbit holes. We can fill them in late on a Friday, but by Sunday when the matches are held they will all be back again.

“We have had complaints from the Kent Football Association, the league and the teams themselves as there is obviously a real danger of broken ankles for footballers.

“We have therefore called in a pest control company to try to reduce the numbers of rabbits to a more manageable level.”

The spokesman added that using gas and ferrets to kill the rabbits was standard procedure.

Rob Sands, from T’s Leisure football club, said the pitch was worse last year. He said: “Last year there were a lot of cracks and we had to have games cancelled because of it, but this season it’s a lot better.”