Morning:
8°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
Latest: Gordon Brown apologises for his poor handwriting and for misspelling the name of a dead soldier in a letter to the young man’s mother
More...
Sheep slaughtered in 'satanic' ritual
Last updated at 10:22am on 22.09.06
Around 100 animals have been found slaughtered and mutilated on Dartmoor in Devon
Police are hunting "devil worshippers" after a series of sickening "satanic rite" attacks on sheep at a national park.
Around 100 animals have been found slaughtered and mutilated with their tongues, eyes and sexual organs removed on Dartmoor in Devon in the past year.
All of the bodies had been arranged in a satanic star shape on the floor or laid out in a circle with their necks broken.
Most of the blood-thirsty rituals have been carried out during a full moon.
In the latest attack farmer Charles Mudge, of Tavistock, Devon, found 30 of his flock dead with bizarre half-moon symbols carved into their flesh. He discovered all their bodies lying near a bloodstained stone altar and wooden stake.
"We are absolutely devastated. It is disgusting," he said. "We don't know how they're doing it. But they must be people with dogs and have got to be used to handling sheep."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the majority of incidents have taken place during a full moon.
She added: "The killings are becoming increasingly vicious. We currently have no suspects."
Reader views (13)
A few years back the supreme court ruled animal sacrifice for religious purposes legal in America. Kosher food is made starting with a religious sacrifice and you people eat meat from animals slaughtered in a far less humane fashion everday.
- Devil Worshipper, Florida
yeah yeah you don't know what this animals suffer we would be saying the same if it would've been a human being is so sad that people think that just cause you love animals you hate humans is so stupid ......I hope they catch this guys
- Ericka, USA
Just another example of religion doing what it does best. Spreading misery.
- Robert Mossinger, USA
When they catch these sickos, they should be flown to Gitmo and or worse,
- Ward -, Tampa USA
Sick yes, but if they were put on any of your plates to eat after the fact nobody would bat an eye.
- James, Phoenix, USA
Lucky it didn't happen on my farm. I would be in jail now charged with mass murder of innocent satanists.
- Nils Vaag 2, Farmington, USA
It is alarming that some are concerned with the fate of the sheep and not with what could happen if these same devil worshippers were to substitute humans for animals - something that was a very common event in the past.
- Frank, texas, usa
This is hardly different from the slaughter, torture, and suffering that animals face by the millions on a daily basis at the hands of humanity.
- J, blacksburg, VA USA
We must have Freedom of Religion at any cost.
- Jack, Ohio, USA
what do you expect.... Laws are taken off the books or not enforced for fear of offending someone's rights. Until we get our heads screwed on straight and start holding people accountable for what they do, this type of behavior is only going to increase. I suppose after they find out who did this they will try and analyze why they did this, instead of just throwing them in a pit and leaving them there!
- Mike, Mckinney, Texas
Yes, cruel and disgusting. But if it were done in a lab in the name of science, it would be legally ok.
- Janet, Miami, USA
This is sick. And wasteful. I hope the authorities catch the people who are doing this and throw them in a dark, dank, nasty place.
- Michelle, Texas, USA
That is sick. The terror those poor animals must have felt. People can be so cruel and disgusting.
- Cb, Cleveland USA
