Animal right activists accused of stealing King's lambs tell court monarch was targeted because 'he's an environmentalist and an animal lover'

One of the animal rights activists alleged to have stolen lambs from the King's Sandringham Estate today told a court Charles was targeted because he 'says he's an environmentalist and an animal lover'.Rosa Sharkey, 26, added the monarch was picked because sheep were not his 'primary source of income' and she and her co-defendants wanted to provoke a 'discussion' about animal farming and its impact on the environment.Giving evidence on the second day of a trial at Norwich Crown Court, she said that going to Sandringham with Rose Patterson, 37, and Sarah Foy, also 26, was 'the only way that we could have ensured that any sheep were saved'.'We discussed wanting to save sheep and the best way to do that. One of the things we were considering was the Impact it would have on the farmer and knowing that farming lives are not easy,' Ms Sharkey told the jury.'That was the key reason why we went for the King's farm as it's not his primary source of income.'And we wanted to do it in a way that would have a wider impact and produce a discussion in the country.'The King says he is an environmentalist and an animal lover and I do think that the reality of sheep farming is quite hidden away and what they face in the slaughter house and the impact on the land are not actually things that he'd agree with.'The defendant said she'd grown up in Levens, Cumbria - an area surrounded by sheep farms and with yearly lambing events.She said 2015 was 'really the point at which I felt unsafe' due to Storm Desmond, which led to a death in nearby Kendal and a power cut at her father's home and a flood at her mother's.Her mother took her to environmental rallies and she was also involved with campaigns at university in Brighton, where she graduated with a degree in international development in 2024. Rose Patterson, 37, along with Sarah Foy and Rosa Sharkey, both 26, are accused of theft after three lambs were taken from the King's Sandringham Estate The trio stood outside Windsor Castle with signs reading 'I rescued the King's sheep' the following day before presenting themselves at Slough police stationMs Sharkey, who lives in Brighton, said she became aware of Animal Rising in 2022 when they took several beagle puppies from a facility and became involved in the group.Explaining her concerns about the environment, she told the court how she had become aware of the loss of forests in Cumbria and how the land had 'lost its ability to be resilient… and cope with rainfall'.Ms Sharkey described how the group carried out reconnaissance at Appleton Farm on the estate before arriving at around 8am on May 24, 2023.They spent a few hours in a field getting the lambs used to their company before moving three into a lorry which had 'hay and straw'.The animals were then taken to a sanctuary known to a 'trusted friend' of Rose Patterson - the location of which was not known to the trio.'I didn't want to be not able to tell them [police] everything I knew,' Ms Sharkey said.'I knew if I did… the lambs would be taken back for slaughter.'She added the three defendants travelled to Windsor - where photos released by Animal Rising at the time showed them holding signs that said 'I rescued the King's sheep' and 'This is how we love animals' - but no action was taken against them.'There were police officers at the gate but they were keeping a steady focus on external things,' Ms Sharkey said, explaining they eventually handed themselves in at the local police station.Rose Patterson, 37, said three lambs had been taken from Sandringham because there was no room for more at the sanctuary where they were taken.She learned subsequently that they were 'socialising with other animals and had made friends with goats'.With a catch in her throat, she told the jury she'd like to rescue far more but there weren't the 'resources'.The director of Animal Rising, who holds an MSc in animal welfare science, ethics and law from Winchester University, said animals had been 'my life, my profession, my education'. Protest group Animal Rising released footage of the activists at Appleton Farm in West Newton, NorfolkHer career has included volunteering at sanctuaries and animal shelters, investigating zoos where tigers are made to perform, and studying the behaviour of wild monkeys in Africa.The defendant said she had also 'stood outside slaughterhouses and heard the screams of animals as they go to their deaths'.Lambs destined for slaughter, she told the jury, were stunned with electrodes shaped 'like tongs' that are put on the head but this was often done by people who were 'not well trained'.'If they're not placed on the right part of the head, often they're not rendered unconscious and end up being paralysed while going to slaughter fully awake,' said Ms Patterson, who grew up in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and now lives with her husband in London.She also claimed the 'scale' of the animal industry meant there were frequent violations of standards but 'very few prosecutions'.Asked by the prosecutor if farm workers would have concluded sheep were being stolen if they had spotted the women, she said she didn't know what people would have thought 'of three women in pink t-shirts'.'All our actions were honest. We were doing it quite openly,' she added.The court heard yesterday that the value of the loss of the lambs to the farm was £400-500. Gordon Robinson, who was head stockman from 2017 to 2024, said the farm had been inspected three times in five years by Defra and had been confirmed 'compliant'.In a statement read to the court by the prosecutor, he said: 'We unapologetically rear forest-fed lambs to sell for consumption.'Lambs are reared until they are ready for slaughter 'between 16 and 52 weeks of age', while ewes would be mated at around 18 months old and 'will typically have four to six flocks in their breeding life'.Some lambs 'are kept for breeding, not slaughter', he added.Mr Robinson said in his interview: 'The three people who took the lambs did not have permission to be on the land or have permission to take the lambs.'The Sandringham Estate consists of 2,400 hectares of farmland, with an additional 4,000 hectares rented by tenant farmers. There are around 3,000 royal sheep present.The trial continues.