Four Lanark type lambs were stolen and one killed by thieves in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, on Wednesday 14 March.

Farmer Adam Smith had housed the ewes due to poor weather conditions in a shed just a few hundred yards from his home farm.

We found rope cut entering the yard and the shed door open

“I was shocked to find four missing lambs and one lying dead suspected of having her neck broken or had got trapped in a position she could not get up from,” Smith told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“The previous evening to the theft we had left the ewe lambs fed and well closed-in with zero risk of escape. On discovering what had happened in the morning, we found rope cut entering the yard and the shed door open yet their pen still intact.”

Smith believes that the thieves must have been in a hurry as they only managed to steal four of the 30 sheep in the shed.

Awareness

“I would like to raise awareness among the farming community of animal theft and disturbance since this happened,” Smith said.

“I now regret not having a proper security system in place and with having pure-bred stock on the farm it can't be overlooked.”

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