A WOMAN famed locally for her dedication to rabbit welfare has been named volunteer of the year in a national animal awards ceremony.

Gwen Butler, owner of Bunny Burrows rescue centre in Richmond, said her “completely unexpected” win at the Ceva Animal Welfare Awards at the Burlington Hotel, Birmingham, has inspired her to focus her energy on campaigning for small animal welfare, rather than being a re-homing centre as she feels she has become.

She said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to win the award – it was such a shock and I didn’t expect it at all.

“The whole event was so special and we heard stories of so many inspirational and wonderful people who work tirelessly for animals.

“Sometimes when you work in animal welfare you hear terrible stories of cruelty and it makes you think the world is full of horrible people – but this event reminds you it is in fact full of really special and caring people.”

The volunteer of the year award, sponsored by Blue Cross, was described by organisers as being for someone who, “through their amazing dedication and tenacity has helped improve animal welfare and who in their own free time goes above and beyond the call of duty to improve the lives of animals either in the UK or internationally.”

Mrs Butler said she has a team of volunteers that help her to run the centre – and without them she would not be able to care for as many homeless pets.

The Animal Welfare Awards, now in its fourth year, spans seven categories and recognises those who have gone the extra mile to help better the lives of animals around the world, be they volunteers, charity workers or veterinary professionals.

Organisations supporting the event include Blue Cross, PDSA and International Cat Care, and sponsor Ceva, which is a veterinary drug company.

Judges were impressed with Mrs Butler’s track record of re-homing more than 1,500 animals over the last 20 years, and of fundraising to help finance care and rehabilitation.

Head judge Christopher Laurence, said: “This year’s winners should be exceptionally proud, standing out amongst impressive competition, the judges were hard pressed to chose but each award has gone to a deserved winner.

"It was heartening to see so many accounts of incredible welfare work being carried out around the world.”

Mrs Butler added: “The awards have made me want to go back to what I initially set out to do, which is to be more involved with animal welfare, especially for small animals.

“People think they are a cheap and easy pet but they take just as much work to care for as lots of other animals.”