Three animal rights activists from the pressure group Animal Rising were convicted of theft today after stealing three lambs from Appleton Farm on the King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk in May 2023. The defendants—Rose Patterson, 37, and Rosa Sharkey and Sarah Foy, both 26—claimed they were rescuing the animals from poor welfare conditions and argued that King Charles, as a self-proclaimed environmentalist and animal lover, would have approved of their actions. The conviction is significant as it follows other trials where activists have been acquitted, prompting MPs to warn that such acquittals provide a "green light" for further crime.

A jury took just three hours and 48 minutes to find the three defendants guilty. Judge Anthony Bate indicated he was considering imposing a community order with unpaid work. The lambs, valued at £400–500, were never recovered, as they were taken to an undisclosed sanctuary where they have since socialised with other animals and formed friendships with goats. Livestock experts and farmers immediately condemned the incident, with a National Sheep Association spokesperson noting that the distressed mother ewes would have been "scouring the field for their lambs, bleating endlessly with no hope of finding them."