Activists steal lambs owned by King Charles III

Animal Rising activists stole three lambs from King Charles III’s estate in Sandringham, northeast England, to protest against the farming of animals for food.

Images published today on Twitter by the animal rights group show three women stealing three lambs from a field to give them “a life in freedom”, as one of them explains. She claims to be on the Sandringham estate.

“Otherwise they would have been taken to the slaughterhouse soon and people would have eaten them,” added the activist.

In a statement, Animal Rising said this “rescue” operation took place on Wednesday night “around 8pm” (4pm GMT) and that the three activists subsequently surrendered to police.

Local police confirmed that the three appeared “voluntarily” at a police station and were detained “on suspicion of theft”.

This action marks the beginning of a series of animal “rescue” operations that Animal Rising intends to carry out over the summer to raise awareness among Britons about the need to change the way they eat, the group said.

The Sandringham estate, which covers several thousand acres of woodland, crops and gardens, has been in the British royal family for five generations. Charles III inherited it on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September.

On Thursday, three more activists from the environmental group Just Stop Oil were arrested in London after throwing orange paint on a piece at the Chelsea flower show, said the group, which fights to end the exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Just Stop Oil has been carrying out shock actions for months, to the point where the British Conservative government passed a law to strengthen police powers to combat such operations. Several of its activists were arrested in parallel with the coronation of Charles III, on May 6, in London.