Appeal after sheep found dead by dog walker

We are appealing for information after a dead sheep was found by a dog walker in Horton.

We were contacted just before 9.15am on Saturday (23 March) 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 the time or those with information that can help with our investigation.

You can contact us using the Live Chat function on our website, or by calling 101 quoting incident number 202 of 23 March.

We’re also urging farmers and livestock owners to be alert, check stock and to report any suspicious activity to us.

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.”

For more advice on rural crime prevention, visit: https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rc/rural-crime/rural-crime-prevention/