21/02/12….Sheep butchered at local nature reserve

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after five sheep were killed and butchered at Aston Rowant Nature Reserve in Watlington.

Sometime between Sunday (5/2) and Thursday (16/2), the sheep were professionally butchered and slaughtered and the meat was stolen, leaving behind the skins, feet and internal organs.

PC Jon Simpkins, from Thame police station, said: ?The sheep were in a remote field on Aston Hill along the A40 Lewknor and the offenders would have had to park a vehicle in a nearby gateway.

?To have butchered the sheep would have taken in excess of two hours and they would have had to carry about 200 kilos of meat to their vehicle.

?The job was professionally done and I believe the offenders may have previous experience of butchering animals and used professional butcher or chef knives.?

Anyone with any information about the incident, or who noticed any suspicious vehicles in the area should contact PC Simpkins via the 24-hour Thames Valley Police Enquiry Line on 101.

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.