‘Britain’s loneliest sheep’ diverted from Animal Sanctuary near Glasgow to Dumfries petting zoo in controversial rescue

‘Britain’s loneliest sheep’ was rescued from the Highlands this weekend in a controversial operation that will see the Scottish sheep diverted from an animal sanctuary near Glasgow to a petting zoo in Dumfries.

Fiona the sheep had spent two years stuck on the foot of a cliff until this weekend, in which a rescue operation was staged by a group of farmers in the Highlands north of Inverness.

Another, seperate, rescue operation had been underway since Monday last week, October 30, by members of volunteer animal rights group, Animal Rising, who had been in the Highlands preparing to rescue Britain’s loneliest sheep.

The individuals involved found a way to reach the sheep now known as Fiona, previously Animal Rising had given her the name ‘Sheepy’. They spent five days in a row getting closer to Fiona ahead of a rescue planned for Sunday, November 5, intending to take her to Tribe Animal Sanctuary near Glasgow.

Animal rights activists claim that the rescue was arranged in collaboration with an adjacent landowner with connections to the Royal Family, whose name Animal Rising did not release.

Instead Animal Rising claim that the landowner facilated a seperate ‘covert operation’ on the morning the day before, Saturday November 4. The new plan for the sheep is to be held at Dalscone Farm Fun, a petting zoo and farm park, and rehabilated over the five month period in which the park is closed for the Winter season.

The Scottish SPCA were in attendance at the rescue and as of yet have not objected to the new petting zoo plan despite admitting previously that Fiona will be ‘fearful’ of people and find interactions ‘distressing’ after two years alone.

Local Animal Rising supporter, Jamie Moyes, said:“We are of course pleased Fiona is no longer stranded, but it is completely unacceptable that she would be taken to a ‘petting zoo’ when she has already suffered for the last two years. We reached an agreement with the landowner for her to be rescued and taken to a safe and peaceful sanctuary, but he went behind our back to make a spectacle of her instead.

“Petting zoos can be stressful for any animal, but especially for one that has lived alone for the last two years and will likely now be mobbed by daily visitors owing to her celebrity status. The right thing to do would be to allow her to live out the rest of her life safely at Tribe Animal Sanctuary, who already agreed to home her.”

Currently Fiona is being held in a ‘secret location’ until farmers feel it is safe to move her to the farm park - after a run-in with animal rights activists that they describes as “scary” and “intimidating”.

Animal Rising took part in a peaceful protest outside Dalscone Farm Fun in Dumfries on Sunday, November 5, over the soon-to-be expected arrival of Fiona.

In a video posted on social media, the farm manager, Ben Best, said: “For the time being, Fiona’s whereabouts is going to be kept secret. There’s only a few of us that know where she is.

“It’s such a shame because she needs to come in, she needs to settle down, she needs to be safe and these people who are claiming to be in her best interests are really, really not. She’s coming to a five-star home and they’re not allowing that to happen.

“We have nothing to hide; our animal track record is impeccable. We only do the right thing by our animals. That is so important to us. That comes above everything else.”