A group of animal rights activists claim they broke into King Charles’ Sandringham Estate to “rescue” three lambs who they say were set for slaughter.
Sarah Foy, 23, Rosa Sharkey, 23 and Rose Patterson, 33, say they handed themselves into a police station in Windsor this morning for stealing the sheep as part of what they called an “open rescue” mission.
The trio - from campaign group Animal Rising - said they entered Appleton Farm in Norfolk on Wednesday evening to remove the animals before they claimed they were set to be slaughtered.
They surrendered to officers after saying that the animals’ safety was secured. The group told the Daily Telegraph that they had been taken to an undisclosed location.
Before handing themselves in, the women held with placards carrying photographs of the animals - since named Sooty, Sunny and Sammy - and slogans including “I rescued the King’s Sheep”.
In a statement to The Independent , a spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said it was “investigating reports three lambs were stolen from a farm in West Newton, Norfolk”.
“Three women aged in their 20s and 30s voluntarily attended a police station in Slough and were arrested on suspicion of theft,” she added.
“They remain in custody.”
Sandringham Estate said it was a police and and “wouldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation”.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Foy said: “Like anyone, animals want to live out their lives safely and without being used or exploited. Sadly that is not the case here at Sandringham, or anywhere they are used in our food system.
“That is exactly why we rescued three sheep today - three beautiful lambs who’ll now live their lives to the fullest. We urgently need a national conversation about our relationship with other animals and nature.
"The Royal Family could be leading the way in this; they own land around twice the size of Greater London.
"It would be an incredible statement for them to fully commit to the transition to a safe, secure, plant-based food system and a rewilding programme. Mending our connection to animals is vital in tackling the climate and nature crises.”
News of the stunt came shortly after the Extinction Rebellion offshoot pledged to protest at next month’s Epsom Derby in bigger numbers than at the Grand National in April.
The race was delayed by 14 minutes after several protesters attempted to glue themselves to fences on the course.
