Police probe after sheep found dead in hedge by dog walker
Force believes the animal may have been stolen before discovery was made
MYSTERY surrounds the death of a sheep discovered by a dog walker in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
Police believe the ewe may have been stolen before its being killed and left in a hedgerow in Bond House Lane, Horton, near Rudyard Lake.
The grim discovery was made just before 9.15am last Saturday (March 23) with officers now trying to piece together what happened.
Now Staffordshire Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area.
A force spokesman said: “We are appealing for information after a dead sheep was found by a dog walker in Horton.
“We were contacted after the animal’s body was found in a hedge on Bond House Lane.
“Officers are carrying out enquiries in the area to find out more about what happened.
“At this stage, we think the sheep may have been stolen from the area before the discovery was made.
“We’re keen to speak to people who saw anything suspicious in the area at Dothe time or those with information that can help with our investigation.”
Police are also urging farmers and livestock owners to be alert, check stock and to report any suspicious activity.
Tactical rural crime lead, Inspector Mark Joynson, said: “While it remains unclear how this sheep came to be fatally injured we want to reassure livestock owners and the wider rural community across Staffordshire that we are committed to supporting them.
“We continue to proactively investigate rural crime throughout the county in order to deter and catch offenders.
“We’ve invested heavily to create a 24/7 roads policing capability as we know offenders use the road network to facilitate rural crime, as well as investment in specialist technology, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), and teams that are proactively targeting those responsible.”
Anyone with information is asked to call investigating officers at Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 202 of March 23.