Three activists who were found guilty of the theft of King Charles’s lambs from his Sandringham Estate have received their sentence and begun crowdfunding to cover their court costs.
Rosa Sharkey, Sarah Foy, both 26, and Rose Patterson, 37, stood before Norwich Crown Court last week, where a jury of five men and seven women unanimously decided the trio were guilty of stealing three lambs from the King.
The group had admitted to taking the sheep, but denied theft because the King “would have consented to the lambs’ rescue”, insisting that the daring operation “wasn’t a stunt – it was a rescue.”
The trio have since been sentenced to 150 hours of community service and a £250 fine with a £114 victim surcharge, totalling £1,092 between the group.
In order to cover their fines and legal costs, Ms Foy, who is part of Animal Rising, an activist group aiming to protect animals and end factory farming, has established a crowdfunding effort.
In her message to donors, the 26-year-old said they “rescued” the lambs from the estate to “save them from being sent to slaughter”.
“We did this to not only to save their lives but to shine a spotlight on how we treat and use animals in this country,” the statement reads.
The activist claims upon arrival at the farm, the sheep had been “left with no water or shade on a very hot and sunny day” and the group “knew they would imminently be sent to slaughter”.
Three activists who were found guilty of theft of the King’s lambs from his Sandringham Estate have received their sentence, and begun crowdfunding to cover their court costs
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INSTAGRAM: @ANIMAL.RISING
Animal Rising’s social media accounts said the sheep had been taken on May 24, 2023, naming the lambs Sammy, Sunny and Sooty. Over the weekend, they confirmed the animals were still alive.
Ms Sharkey, Ms Foy, and Ms Patterson are said to have travelled to the farm and met by a driver in a small van, before gaining access to the field by climbing over “a low electric fence.”
The driver of the van did not go to trial.
After they spent the morning sitting among the flock, allowing the young animals to grow accustomed to their presence, they loaded three lambs into the vehicle and departed at approximately 8pm – some 12 hours after their arrival.
The group’s social media accounts said the sheep had been taken on May 24, 2023, naming the lambs Sammy, Sunny and Sooty
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INSTAGRAM:@ANIMAL.RISINGSpeaking to the group’s Instagram followers, Ms Foy said the guilty verdict felt like a “punch in the gut”.
“This was an open rescue,” she explained. “An open rescue means you do it completely accountably, you don’t try to hide what you do.
“We informed the authorities that we were taking the sheep and taking them to a sanctuary.”
The trio have since been sentenced to 150 hours of community service and a £250 fine with a £114 victim surcharge, totalling £1,092 between the group
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INSTAGRAM: @ANIMAL.RISINGHowever, in court, the group deliberately kept the location of the sanctuary a secret.
Ms Sharkey explained: “I knew if I did know and I did tell them, the lambs would be taken back for slaughter.”
Aside from the whereabouts of the lambs’ new home, she told the court the group “wanted to be open about what we had done so that the facts were out there.”
The group’s full message on their crowdfunding page reads: “Hi, I’m Sarah, one of the three rescuers who in 2023 saved the lives of three lambs we named Sammy, Sunny and Sooty.
“We rescued them from King Charles’ Sandringham Estate and saved them from being sent to slaughter.
“We did this to not only to save their lives but to shine a spotlight on how we treat and use animals in this country.
“We knew they would imminently be sent to slaughter, and this is why we rescued them, but even when we went to the field, we found them left with no water or shade on a very hot and sunny day. We knew what had to be done.
“Last week, we were on trial for the ‘theft’ of these three lambs. We all told the jury how we came to rescue these sheep, our motivations, and what happened on the day, but ultimately, we were found guilty.
“We were all sentenced to 150 hours of community service and a £250 fine with a £114 victim surcharge, totalling £1,092 between us.
“Any extra money raised will be donated to Animal Rising to fund current and future campaigns to save more animals like Sammy, Sunny and Sooty.”