Northamptonshire Police investigate fifth incident of illegal sheep butchery in 10 days
Written by News on 17/07/2019
Police are urging people to report any sale of meat in “strange circumstances” as they investigate yet another incident of illegal sheep butchery.
Northamptonshire Police are now looking into a fifth incident of animals being killed and butchered in their fields overnight, following reports of nine lambs killed at a farm in Clipston.
The latest incident happened between 9am on Monday and 7pm on Tuesday, when a farm worker noticed a gate leading to a field had been interfered with.
Police later found the lambs illegally butchered, with the carcasses thrown in a ditch.
The force has received at least four other similar reports in the past 10 days, including incidents in Crick, Whilton, Kelmarsh and Rushton.
At least 50 animals are now estimated to have been slaughtered in such incidents.
A meeting, hosted by the National Farmers’ Union and police, was due to be held on Wednesday for local sheep owners.
Northamptonshire Police are asking locals to report “anything suspicious” they might see.
Neighbourhood Sergeant Sam Dobbs said: “This is yet another shocking incident for the farming community in Northamptonshire which has left them feeling vulnerable and scared.
“These criminals are not just illegally butchering animals – they are having a serious impact on people’s livelihoods.
“I do want to reassure the farming community that we are taking these incidents very seriously and have a plan in our control room to ensure that any intelligence reported to us is dealt with immediately and suspicious incidents called in are deployed to as a matter of urgency.
“If you see anything suspicious, including the sale or distribution of meat in strange circumstances, please call us and report it.
“This could be the registration of a van parked in a field gateway, or a report of lights seen in a field at night – every piece of information has value so please get in touch with anything which could help.”
Police have previously warned farmers to remove loose fencing or farm equipment and to watch out for suspicious activity.
They believe the spate of attacks – occurring within roughly 30 miles of each other – began on 7 July when 14 lambs were killed.
The carcasses of 12 were stolen, with the remains of two others left in the farmer’s field near West Haddon.
(c) Sky News 2019: Northamptonshire Police investigate fifth incident of illegal sheep butchery in 10 days
