Graphic content: Midlands farmer finds ewe ‘brutally killed and butchered’

A farmer based in the midlands discovered that one of his family’s ewes was “brutally killed and butchered” over the June bank holiday weekend.

Farming just outside Edenderry, Co. Offaly, with his father Gordon, Evan Kelly made a grim discovery after he was alerted by a neighbour who was out walking a dog that something was wrong in a field where sheep were being kept – which is adjacent to the Grand Canal.

The young farmer went down to investigate and discovered that an attack had taken place.

It is suspected that the sheep was killed between Saturday evening (June 2) and Sunday morning (June 3) – as what remained of the ewe was still relatively fresh and the smell was “minimal enough, given the fine weather”, Kelly explained.

He encouraged the general public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity they come across to An Garda Siochana.

The young farmer explained that the attack on the ewe happened just beyond Rathmore Bridge, which is a popular area for people walking. Anyone with information is asked to contact Edenderry Garda Station on: ‭046-9731290‬.

Speaking to AgriLand, he said: “Someone may have seen a car pulling out late at night or early in the morning. Whoever did this would have had to carry the carcass for a nice bit to get it to an area where you could park a car or van.

“We have had problems with dogs and foxes in the past, but never humans. It’s shocking that a farmer can’t leave livestock in a field without the fear of someone going in and killing them.”

Warning – images contained in the gallery below are graphic and some people may find them distressing.

It is suspected that more than one person may have been involved in carrying out this attack and that they had previous experience in butchering a carcass.

An Garda Siochana has already been made aware of the incident.