Three animal rights activists found guilty of stealing lambs from farm on King's Sandringham Estate

Three animal rights activists were found guilty of stealing lambs from the King's estate - after they told police they believed the monarch "would have consented to the lambs' rescue".

Rosa Sharkey and Sarah Foy, both 26, and Rose Patterson, 37, were found guilty of theft following a trial at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday.

The court heard that all three wore shirts from the group Animal Rising on 24 May 2024, when they took three sheep from a field at Appleton Farm, in Sandringham Estate, Norfolk.

The animals were taken to a sanctuary in a van by a fourth person, jurors heard, who was not on trial and was named in court by Patterson only as "Ben".

A day later, the court heard that the trio went to Windsor Castle to try to tell the police there what they had done, before going to Windsor police station where they were taken into custody.

According to Animal Rising, the three also held signs outside Windsor Castle reading "I rescued the King's sheep" before reporting to officers.

Judge Anthony Bate sentenced all three to 12-month community orders with 150 hours of unpaid work, and to pay a contribution of £250 each towards prosecution costs.

More from Sky News:
Anti-migrant protester Danny Tommo arrested
Australia's AI hack: Two opposite lessons

In a statement on Animal Rising's website after the guilty verdict, Patterson - director of the action group - said that the three lambs "are now fully grown, living safely and happily".

She said: "We are of course disappointed by the verdict today, but it doesn't change how I feel about rescuing Sammy, Sunny and Sooty (what the trio named the lambs).

"We rescued them because we believed they deserved the chance of a long life, rather than having their lives cut short simply because they were being farmed for food.

"I don't regret for a moment giving them that chance."

Dingle Clark, prosecuting, noted that all three women had previous convictions, with Patterson having three convictions related to public order, Foy with two convictions and Sharkey with six convictions, including one related to a protest at the Grand National meeting at Aintree.

Founded in 2019, Animal Rising describes itself as a "nonviolent, people-powered, organisation" campaigning against what is says is the harm caused by farming and fishing.

Some members of the group have carried out what they call an "open rescue" of animals from private sites. Patterson was found not guilty earlier this year over the rescue of beagles from MBR Acres, a facility breeding animals for testing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Three animal rights activists found guilty of stealing lambs from farm on King's Sandringha