Thieves Steal 12 Animals From Therapy Farm for Children With Special Needs, Investigation Underway
A family that runs a therapy farm for children with additional needs in England is pleading for help after thieves stole eight sheep and four turkeys in an overnight raid.
Julia Stewart, who runs Farmyard Friends C.I.C. near Messingham near Scunthorpe, 180 miles north of London, discovered the animals missing on the morning of April 6 when she went to feed them. She runs the farm with her mother, Mary, and sister Nicola.
“Last night I had 8 sheep and 4 turkeys stolen from Farmyard Friends C.I.C . All my sheep have names and are friendly. I am beyond devastated and heartbroken,” Stewart wrote in a statement via Facebook. “This past week has been horrendous and this has broken me. The thought of my animals been scared and hurt makes me feel physically sick.”
Every stolen animal had a name. The turkeys were Albert, Bernie, Hip and Hop. The sheep were Milkshake, Juniper, Daisy, Dixie, Fleur, Betty, Sooty and Teddy.
One sheep, Teddy, held deep personal significance. “One of the sheep, Teddy, I have had since he was 2 weeks old, I bottle fed him and he slept on my bed until he was old enough to go to the farm,” Stewart wrote.
Stewart described the emotional toll per Grimsby Live: “I’m just absolutely heartbroken. It’s the fact that my animals are my pets, and I’ve had them all since I was young. They just come up to you, like dogs do, wanting cuddles.”
She added: “The fact that somebody’s taken them, and I know what’s going to happen to them is just destroying me. It really is. I feel absolutely broken by the fact somebody’s going to hurt them.”
How the Thieves Struck at Farmyard Friends
Nicola detailed how the raid was carried out: “They have cut through a gate, driven across a farmer’s field and backed up to our hedgeline and made a track through the hedge to take eight of our pet sheep, one of which, Teddy, Julia hand-reared from two weeks old. He used to sleep on the bed, so she is absolutely heartbroken.”
Three of the four stolen turkeys were rescue animals with deformed feet. “They were in a terrible condition when we got them but had really come into their own, and now they’ve been taken. These animals are pets. They have names,” Nicola said.
Farmyard Friends Is a Sanctuary Built for a Child
Farmyard Friends was set up as a place of therapy for Julia’s eldest son, Ethan, who is on the autism spectrum and is home-schooled. The farm provides animal therapy, community interest visits and educational services focusing on therapeutic interactions with animals.
“Ethan is the reason it was set up. Julia has a Masters in autism and has worked with special educational needs children and there was nowhere for them to go,” Nicola said.
The family had to explain the theft to Ethan carefully. “We’ve had to tell him that the people who have taken them have stolen them because they’re their best sheep in the world, and the best turkeys in the world, and they’ve taken them to set up their own farm. But we know that they’re probably no longer with us and they’ve been used for human consumption,” Nicola said.
How Police Are Aiding in the Search for the Animals
Stewart told the BBC the farm experienced a storm two weeks ago that “wiped out some of our shelters.” She added, “We were trying to rebuild everything and now this. It’s just hit us really massively.”
A GoFundMe was started by a friend named Stephanie to help the farm purchase security cameras recommended by police.
A Humberside Police spokesperson said: “Officers from our Rural Task Force received a report of animals being stolen from a farm on Brigg Road in Messingham, North Lincolnshire, which is believed to have occurred between Sunday, 5 April and Monday, 6 April 2026.”
Police asked anyone with information or CCTV footage to contact their non-emergency number.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
