POLICE SCOTLAND is appealing for information after a sheep was killed and apparently professionally butchered in a field by Stewarton.
Farming bodies have responded in uproar to condemn this 'barbaric' behaviour and have urged the public to help Police Scotland with their enquiries.
The incident happened between 8am on Saturday February 6 and 1pm on Tuesday February 9. The sheep killed was a one-year old female Texel weighing approximately 70kgs.
An appeal has been made on Police Scotland's Ayrshire division's social media networks, to both raise awareness of these types of incidents but also to urge for anyone to come forward with any information to help find the person or person's responsible.