[Foobar]

How close is your field to civilisation?  Do ppl walk dogs in the area / are they any footpaths nearby?


Sorry for your loss btw  .

[Penninehillbilly]

so sorry to read about this, horrible and worrying.
just wondering, don't get cross, but because they all seemed to be OK earlier on, could you have missed the half eaten one? thinking it was sleep from a distance?
Didn't think badgers were about during the day?
Doesn't explain the broken neck though.
I think it should be reported to police, if there are other incidents in the neighbourhood it may all come together and a high alert put out?
Posters up asking if anybody has seen anything? (with a picture) if it is a dog maybe owners will start keeping them on leads? there must have been evidence on the dog when it got home!

[Sbom]

We had one sick the other day and it looked to have been attacked by dogs as it had blood on its head, and is next to a footpath where we have had previous dog problems, it came back to the farm and was treated but died the next day. On closer inspection we found what appeared to be a single bullet hole in the side of its head :-( , had a root around but due to it being in the skull we couldn't find the bullet.
Police informed but not really interested

[harmony]

If the neck is broken then that would indicate not natural causes.  I would be thinking dog, especially as it's during the day; and birds have stripped it after the kill.

I have seen sheep with broken necks that have slipped off walls or rocks. It happens. Dogs pull wool off chasing and bringing down sheep. You would see it it the grass.

[Marches Farmer]

Have there been reports of big cats in your area?  I've seen a black panther here in the Marches and they will tend to patrol the same route once they know food's around.

[nutterly_uts]

I think if I was you I'd be finding a convenient place to park up with a blanket, thermos etc and spend 24hrs to see if anything is around. 2 days of weirdness and 2 deaths would have me pretty worried

[verdifish]

Regardless of the culprit this does need reporting! 

[Cheviot]

In the first pic, is that where you found the carcass, as there doesn't seem to be any blood, I would have thought if the sheep had been killed then eaten, there would have been some blood?
Regards
Sue

[Old Shep]

I would really suspect a dog or dogs, if undisturbed they can eat the carcase.  The one with the broken neck could have done it crashing into the fence or a wall panicking.  Really sorry - its an awful thing to happen.

[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

i dont have no experience with sheep, but my first though on seeing the carcass was large cat!!

[Me]

Ok so assuming it was "the beast" what are the chances of it habitually killing and eating in the open in the daytime and remaining unseen/un-shot? Less than none. Sorry peeps it is not a big cat. 

[Porterlauren]

Just a few things -

When dogs kill sheep they make a lot more mess than that.

When big cats kill quarry, they certainly make more mess than that.

Big cats don't eat in situ they drag away.

If a dog had picked that carcass clean (or a fox) there would be more bone damage and displacement.

The stripping of the flesh looks very akin to what happens to sheep here with the ravens.

It would be odd however for ravens to strip the bones like that and not take the eye, although it does happen.

It doesn't look like those animals have been attacked and killed there. . . . . if a dog had pulled it, you'd have tufts of wool pulled out and a lacerated throat.

Seems almost as if they have had their necks broken somehow. . . . . and then been picked over by carrion birds. Very weird to have two though. . . . . .

P.S ive a lot of experience with killing things / dead things 

[Rupert the bear]

Definitely report, but contact the local shooters ( local gunsmith would be 1st port of call ) most of these guys have excellent night vision gear . We had the local guys  for a fox problem , what I saw through the night vision was incredible. It would save you a night out in the cold trying to stay awake !

[bazzais]

def been eaten by something, the attack animal?, who knows.

Sorry for your loss.

The reason I asked if they had been moved is that - on big moves, sometimes it kills the few.   They enjoy their own space.

But god knows whats happened here - just gutting really gutted.

[Brandi]

What a terrible shock for you, hope you get some information at least then you could respond in some way, take care of yourself