Thugs batter new-born lambs to death
Police in the North were today hunting thugs who savagely beat to death more than a dozen sheep and lambs at an isolated farm.
The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has offered a reward to help catch the men, claiming the attack was the worst it had ever come across.
Eleven new-born lambs and four female sheep had their legs, backs or necks broken before being killed in a violent attack on the farm near the village of Donemana in Co Tyrone.
Another five animals suffered broken legs after they were beaten with a spade or blunt object during the attack.
The USPCA said it was the worst case of premeditated animal cruelty it had ever come across and offered a reward to anyone who came forward with information.
The charity’s chief executive Stephen Philpott said: “It was an absolutely savage and disgusting attack carried out by people with very few morals and absolutely no conscience,” he said.
“This just doesn’t fit the normal profile of cruelty that we come across. It’s so extreme. The animals are used almost as a proxy.
“The cruelty inflicted on them is done to obviously make a statement or to make a point that there’s some other dispute or underlying problem behind this. The animals are just used almost like a rural punishment beating, for want of a better word.
“It is so savage that we would be very keen for anybody in the community to give us information to try to prevent this happening again.”
Brendan McLaughlin, the farmer who owned the flock of sheep, branded the attack as “cowardly” and said he felt sick when he discovered the scene of carnage yesterday.
“I found nine dead and six lying injured that the vet had to put down, and I knew when I saw it, it wasn’t dogs,” he said.
Mr McLaughlin said a one-week-old lamb had had its back and jaw broken after being struck by a spade or blunt object during the attack.
“The men who did it had to be sick,” he said.
“They were all hit over the head with a spade or a blunt object. They were definitely all savagely beaten about the head.
“It was just a cowardly act in my eye. A dog might do it but you could never see a human being doing it. A dog might do it as he has no conscience.”
Mr McLaughlin said he had to take another five animals who suffered broken legs in the attack to the vet.
