A man who took five sheep from a farm and subsequently butchered them illegally in his garage has been sentenced to pay £150.

Vladut Boberschi, 34, from Telford in Shropshire, stole five sheep from a smallholding in April 2020 and then killed them for meat in his garage.

Boberschi fled the country but returned to the UK in 2023, where he was arrested.

At Birmingham Crown Court, he received a community order along with a £150 fine.

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Martin Beck, the national livestock theft coordinator for the police, stated that he was caught during the final stages of illegally slaughtering the stolen sheep.

Beck said: “There was no regard for the welfare of these animals, he kept sheep at his home with their legs tied before inhumanely killing them.

“These sheep were also unfit for human consumption as they had been medicated by the farmer prior to being stolen and slaughtered in an unhygienic environment."

Each year, thousands of farm animals are reported missing or stolen throughout the UK.

Last year, such crimes cost farmers approximately £2.7m, with several incidents involving animals being butchered in fields.

Livestock theft not only impacts farmers but also causes suffering to animals and heightens the risk of disease.