A farmer was left horrified after his six-week-old lamb was butchered in his field and had its chops removed.
Alistair Pinkerton found the slaughtered animal in a corner of the field opposite Battlers Green Farm in Radlett, Hertfordshire, on May 14.
The baby animal’s backbone had been cut out and the rack, or chops, were removed. Pinkerton said the animal may have dragged itself six metres with a hole in its back before it died.
The long-time farmer, who checks on his field of 100 ewes and around 140 lambs daily, said: ‘I was horrified, absolutely horrified.
‘It looked like it had literally had its back cut in half.
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‘There was quite a bit of blood about, and it had obviously moved around. It was obviously quite barbaric.
‘I saw it in the corner tucked by the hedge. We do, unfortunately, have deaths from time to time, but this was a strong-looking lamb surrounded by fresh blood.
‘Animals such as foxes and red kites go for soft tissue such as the eyes or tongue. This lamb hadn’t been got at by vermin.’
Pinkerton said he had ‘never seen anything like this’ in his 40 years of farming, despite having to confront ‘quite a lot of death’ among his animals.
After speaking to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Pinkerton was told similar reports of illegal animal killings had been made at farms across the country, typically involving larger animals.
NFU Hertfordshire Chair Robert Law, who runs a mixed farm at Royston, said: ‘This was a truly horrific incident.
‘Animal welfare is always a top priority for farmers, and the farming community is appalled at the actions of the person or people responsible for this.
‘This appears to be a premeditated, organised attack.
‘Sadly, we do see incidents like this happening occasionally and it is always deeply distressing for farmers to hear of their animals suffering in such an awful way.
‘The NFU urges anyone with information about this attack, and others like it, to contact the police and help ensure the people responsible can be brought to justice.
‘We need to do everything possible to stop crimes like this from happening.’
PC Michael Henry of Hertfordshire Police said: ‘Due to the nature of the injuries, we do not believe any animals were involved in the killing of the lamb.
‘I appreciate this news will be of concern to the farming community, and we are working to establish the full circumstances.
‘It’s suspected the lamb died overnight and into the early hours of this morning. If you have any details, no matter how small or insignificant you think the information you have may be, please report it.’