Britain’s “loneliest sheep” is in hiding after animal rights activists protested at the home she was set to be sent to.
The sheep named Fiona was rescued on Saturday by a team of five farmers from the foot of a cliff in the Scottish Highlands after being stranded for more than two years.
A petition to rescue her gained thousands of signatures after she was discovered by a kayaker in October at the foot of a cliff on the Cromarty Firth.
Animal rights campaigners are now raising concerns over plans to rehome Fiona to a farm park near Dumfries where they say would make her a “spectacle” and she would be “exploited.” An online petition signed by more than 6,500 people called for Fiona to be rehomed at Tribe Animal Sanctuary near Glasgow instead.
The petition stated: "Whilst we are pleased she is no longer stranded at the base of a cliff, it is completely inappropriate that she would be taken to be made a spectacle of at a petting zoo."
On Sunday, the Animal Rising activists, who earlier this year tried to disrupt a number of high-profile horse races, staged a protest at Dalscone Farm Fun holding ‘Free Fiona’ signs.
A spokesperson said: “It was a peaceful, non-violent demonstration. We want Fiona to be rehomed at a sanctuary rather than a petting zoo.”
In a Facebook video, Farmer Ben Best, from Dalscone Farm, stated the protesters made his staff and family feel “intimidated”.
He said: “We are obviously closed at the moment. The farm park’s closed for the winter, for the next five months, so she’s got loads of time to settle in.”
“Nobody’s going to be bugging her, we’ll just get to know her, let her do her own thing.”
Mr Best initially planned to put Fiona in a single pen and be slowly introduced to other animals under the supervision of a veterinary, but now that has been put on hold, he said. Fiona is currently being kept in a secret location for her safety.
He said: “For the time being, Fiona’s whereabouts is going to be kept secret. There’s only a few of us that know where she is. It’s such a shame because she needs to come in, she needs to settle down, she needs to be safe and these people who are claiming to be in her best interests are really, really not. She’s coming to a five-star home and they’re not allowing that to happen.”
Fiona, who was shorn by hand, is said to be in a good condition and healthy.
