A baby rabbit was snatched from its hutch and 'hidden inside a coat' before being stolen from a pet shop in Trafford.
The six-week-old lop-eared bunny was reportedly taken from Urmston Aquatics and Reptile Centre on Wednesday afternoon.
According to owners, it had been in the hutch with its mother and siblings when it was grabbed.
CCTV footage from the store just off Barton Road in Stretford shows a man in a blue sports-type jacket looking round the rabbit hutches and peering in.
A few minutes later, he can be seen in the corner of the screen opening the lid from one of them and reaching inside before grabbing something and disappearing behind some shelving.
Steve Croft, who runs the long-standing family business with wife Claire, said the man walked into the shop at around 12.10pm.
"He waited for a few minutes for a member of staff to be out of the way, then he lifted the top of one of the hutches and grabbed the rabbit.
"He then went out of sight from the camera, but we believe he put the animal in his coat and then walked out of the shop.
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"It took him 30 seconds to grab the rabbit and walk out."
Urmston Aquatics and Reptile Centre posted a CCTV image on its Facebook page on Friday, urging whoever had the rabbit to bring it back.
It said: "This person stole a baby rabbit from our shop on Wednesday.
"We have full CCTV video of him taking the rabbit and hiding it in his coat and we know he has taken it in to the block of flats opposite the shop.
"If anybody knows him we are extremely concerned for the welfare of the rabbit as it wasn't old enough to leave it's mother.
"We would just like the rabbit back safe."
Within hours of the post going online, the animal was returned to the shop anonymously.
Thankfully, it seems to be okay.
Claire explained why it's so important for young rabbits to stay with their mums until they're a certain age.
"They need to be with their mums for a minimum of eight weeks, as they aren't fully weaned yet and still use their mother to feed.
"Young rabbits have really sensitive stomachs and a change of food or environment can make them seriously ill, in some cases they could even die."
She said everyone at the Urmston Aquatics is thrilled to have the animal back safely.
The incident was reported to both police and the RSPCA. GMP have been approached for comment but are yet to respond.
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