THREE lambs were slaughtered and their carcasses taken from a field of a property between Fiddleford and Sturminster Newton. 

The owner of the lambs, who alerted police, found traces of the lambs’ remains nearby.  

The incident took place sometime between 4.30pm on August 31 and 10.15am on September 1. 

Police community support officer Mike Sinnick, of the Dorset Police Rural Crime Team, said: “This was a gruesome incident in which we believe the three lambs were slaughtered and processed in the field before their carcasses were taken. 

“As well as this being a horrendous act of animal cruelty, the victim has also been considerably impacted financially and so we are continuing to investigate this incident to ascertain the full circumstances of what happened. 

“As this occurred close to the A357, I would ask any motorists driving in the area at the time of the incident to please review their dashcam footage and see if they have captured any suspicious activity which may aid our investigation.” 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240136973. 

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.