An appeal for information has been made following a series of suspicious incidents in which cattle and sheep have been wounded and killed in the UK recently.
In a statement released on Friday, November 22, Hampshire Constabulary appealed for information, stating:
“We are appealing for witnesses following suspicious incidents involving animals near Lyndhurst.
“We received a report at around 11:00am on Tuesday, November 19, that a dead ewe had been found at the roadside in Penn Common Road, Bramshaw. The ewe had a puncture wound to its side.
We are looking to see if this incident is linked to two other incidents, in which cows have been found with wounds.
One of these incidents took place sometime between 2.30pm on Tuesday 19 November and 9.10am on Wednesday, November 20,” the police statement said.
The police added that the heifer was let out in the Bramshaw area and when it returned it was found to have a wound on its neck; the heifer was taken to the vets for treatment.
“The second incident took place sometime between 7pm on Tuesday 12 November and 1pm on Thursday 14 November.
“Two calves that had been let out in the Linwood area returned with small wounds to their shoulder. The wounds have been treated,” the police statement added.
Sergeant Andy Williams, of Hampshire Constabulary’s Country Watch team, said: “These incidents are unusual in the New Forest.
We are looking at the circumstances of each one to see if they are linked, and to see how these animals came to be injured.
“If you have any information that could help our enquiries, then please call 101, quoting the crime reference number 44190416137.
“We would also urge anyone who uses the Forest, including Commoners, to be vigilant. Please contact us if you see anything suspicious, even if you think what you have seen or heard is not that important.”
‘Occult’
According to the BBC, the dead ewe was spray painted with five-point star pentagrams, while satanic symbols were also found daubed on Bramshaw Church.
An inverted cross and the number 666 were painted on the door of the part-12th Century St Peter’s Church in Bramshaw, in the locality, the BBC noted.