// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Activists found guilty of theft of King's lambs
(Left to right) Rosa Sharkey, Sarah Foy and Rose Patterson, pictured outside Norwich Crown Court, had denied stealing the lambs
Three animal rights activists have been found guilty of stealing three lambs from the King's Sandringham Estate.
Throughout a three-day trial, Rosa Sharkey, 26, Sarah Foy, 26, and Rose Patterson, 37, insisted they rescued the animals in 2023.
The members of campaign group Animal Rising also said they believed the King "would have consented to their rescue" due to being an "environmentalist".
But the jury of five men and seven women at Norwich Crown Court unanimously found all three guilty of theft. They were each sentenced to a 12-month community order of 150 hours of unpaid work, and they must each pay £250 towards prosecution costs.
Sentencing them, judge Anthony Bate said their actions highlighted "sensitive and important matters of public interest".
He added that the defendants were all "intelligent and capable women who can make a valuable contribution to society".
After the hearing, Patterson, director of Animal Rising, said: "We are of course disappointed by the verdict today, but it doesn't change how I feel about rescuing Sammy, Sunny and Sooty."
The three activists posed for a photo with the animals
The theft took place on 23 May 2023, when the trio spent hours in a field at Appleton Farm in Sandringham, to allow the sheep to become acquainted to them.