A sheep has died from a suspected crossbow and arrow attack
Farmer and police believe the shot left the sheep suffering for hours.
Last updated 13th Sep 2024
A farmer came out to do his morning stock checks as normal and was ‘shocked’ to see something protruding from a sheep.
At first glance when farmer Craig McCornick was approaching the gate to the field, he thought the sheep had died from natural causes but as he got nearer, he immediately realised that wasn’t the case.
As he approached the sheep, he found something had pierced the body from the shoulder right to its rear end with what he thinks is a long bolt or arrow.
Police quickly attended the scene, and it was confirmed that the attack happened between the last evening stock check just before 9pm and the first morning stock check before 7am.
The field is adjacent to the farm on the Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway border at New Cumnock and Sanquhar and is on the roadside of the A76.
Craig McCornick at Overcairn Farm says: “We check our stock twice a day anyway and we are watching out more, but we can’t be everywhere all the time and that’s the worst part of this. We try to look after our stock as well as we can, but we can’t predict a random act of violence like this.
“We think it’s a bolt from a bow and arrow or crossbow, we’re not 100% sure yet but it’s definitely been something that was fired at the sheep.”
The police have taken the object for DNA testing in the hope of finding fingerprints belonging to the person who shot the sheep.
Please be aware these photos are graphic.
He adds that it’s not just him and his family who suffered: “That lamb will survive but it will have been a hard loss for it, and it will have been sitting curled up against its dead mum for hours and not known what’s happened.
“The cruelty side of it to me is mind-boggling. Somebody has driven past the side of the field and saw a sheep in the field with her lamb and decided “Oh I have a weapon with me and I’m going to use it on the sheep”. They shot this bolt through the sheep which probably hasn’t killed her instantly and left her lying in pain in the middle of the field with her lamb lying beside her and happily drove away.
“I don’t understand how anyone can do this and drive away from an animal in so much pain. It’s just wrong and criminal actually.”
The McCornick family is urging anyone to report anything out of the ordinary they see to the police because they fear this could be the beginning of a shoot-and-run series.
“The chances of it being a one-off, I hope it is, but I would say it’s very slim. If someone has done this to a random sheep in a random field, then what’s stopping them from doing it to someone’s pet or worse! Whoever did this needs to be stopped.”
Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We received a report that a sheep had been found dead in the New Cumnock area.
"Enquiries are ongoing into this report and to establish the circumstances."