On 24th May 2021, three vegan activists from the animal rights group Animal Rising rescued three lambs from a farm on King Charles’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, UK. They claimed they were rescuing the lambs from slaughter and took them to a safe place. The activists, named Rosa Sharkey, Sarah Foy, and Rose Patterson, then drove to Windsor Castle and tried to hand themselves into the police, but were initially refused. They were later arrested on suspicion of theft.
Animal Rising wrote this about this event: “As a nation of animal lovers, how can we justify harming gentle babies? Actions like this are often laced with both joy and grief. We are celebrating newfound freedom while grieving for the hundreds of lives left behind. Today, every attempt was made to rescue a mother sheep… They did this because rescuing animals from harm is the right thing to do…These women have acted out of compassion and they stand by the belief that a jury of ordinary people will take the side of care and freedom. This is how we fix our broken relationship with animals…We take solace in knowing that we have done our best by these babies, saving them from slaughter and helping them to a long life of freedom.”
Activist Sarah Foy said this: “Like anyone, animals want to live out their lives safely and without being used or exploited. Sadly that is not the case here at Sandringham, or anywhere they are used in our food system. That is exactly why we rescued three sheep today – three beautiful lambs who’ll now live their lives to the fullest.” The current whereabouts of the sheeps are not known.
