Lambs left orphaned after mum stolen 'for meat'

Two newborn lambs have been left orphaned after their mother was stolen as police investigate a spate of livestock thefts in Lincolnshire.

The ewe was stolen overnight from a small farm in the Spalding area on 24 March, leaving the owner to "bottle feed" the three-day-old lambs, Lincolnshire Police said.

Owner Eleanor, who did not give her second name out of fear of being targeted again, said one of the newborns had become seriously ill and she feared the ewe had been stolen to be illegally butchered.

The force said it had seen a "large increase" in animal thefts across the county in the last few months and it felt "sickened" by this latest incident.

Eleanor, who had 10 ewes on her farm before the theft, said she had been left to hand rear the orphaned lambs even though she was "not a mum".

"One of them is not thriving, it doesn't want to go on the bottle," she said.

"You don't realise initially that one is gone, you count them, but you keep coming up with nine.

"And then you get someone else to count them because you think you're going insane."

Eleanor said she was very concerned about the ewe's health. She feared if the mother had infections and was butchered and consumed, the meat would be infected putting "people's lives at risk".

PC Martin Green, from the force's Rural Crime Action Team, said officers had seen a large increase in sheep theft across Spalding, Boston and Skegness.

He said there was only one reason people would steal the animals.

"Obviously it's for the meat," he said.

"We are finding the skins, fleeces, heads and stomachs dumped in various places around the county."

Mr Green warned criminals against stealing animals, adding: "We will catch you."

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