Activists from the group Animal Rising staged an act of protest by stealing three lambs from the Sandringham estate owned by King Charles III in northeast England. Their aim was to demonstrate against the farming of animals for food. The animal rights group posted images on Twitter on Thursday showing three women removing the lambs from a field with the intention of giving them “a life of freedom,” according to one of the activists. According to her statements, they were at the Sandringham farm to carry out this action.
The activist explained that the lambs would have been sent to the slaughterhouse and consumed by people if they had not been rescued. In a statement, Animal Rising reported that the “rescue” operation took place on Wednesday night at around 20:00 (19:00 GMT), and subsequently the three activists voluntarily surrendered to the police.
Local authorities confirmed that the three women went to a police station of their own free will and were arrested on suspicion of robbery. This incident marks the beginning of a series of animal “rescue” operations that Animal Rising plans to carry out over the summer with the aim of raising awareness among Britons about the need to change their eating habits, the group said.
The Sandringham estate, which covers thousands of acres of woodland, crops, and gardens, has been in the possession of the British royal family for five generations. Charles III inherited the estate after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September.
In addition, on Thursday, three other activists from the environmental group Just Stop Oil were arrested in London after throwing orange paint on a piece at the Chelsea Flower Show. The group is fighting for a halt to hydrocarbon exploitation and has been carrying out protest actions for several months. The British Conservative government passed a law to strengthen police powers to deal with these operations. On the sidelines of the coronation of Charles III on May 6 in London, several activists from this group were also arrested.