A vegan activist has been found guilty of animal cruelty after she stole a lamb from a nearby field, put a nappy on it and forced it to live in her bedroom. ‘Anti-farmer’ Louise Murguia, 49, nearly killed a female lamb that she kidnapped from farmer Stuart Ludwell's land on March 23, a court heard. The activist claimed she thought she could take better care of the animal as she believed it had a broken leg and was in distress - despite this, she failed to seek medical care or contact the farmer.

Instead, Murguia took it home and washed its coat to remove the identifying number on the fleece. She kept the lamb trapped in her house for three weeks and fed it cow’s milk before police turned up. The court heard that, upon discovery, the animal was malnourished, weighing almost half what it should have. The animal needed a week of intensive treatment to ensure it survived.

The night before the kidnapping, Mr Ludwell of Hile Farm in Dorset explained how one of his ewes had died suddenly, leaving two lambs orphaned, which required hand-rearing. The farmer decided to avoid distressing the other animals and waited until morning to collect the other lambs. However, when returning the next day, he could only find one.

A tip-off three weeks later led him to discover it was taken by Murguia, who lives nearby and dog walks in the area. She told police that she had taken the lamb because it appeared to be injured, and she didn’t think it would survive.

Upon recovering the stolen animal on April 15, it weighed just 5.8kg—its twin brother weighed 9.95kg. Because the lamb failed to thrive on cow’s milk initially, Murguia bought a formula on Amazon for £35.

At the time of the event, Mr Ludwell posted a picture on social media of a dead lamb which had been killed by a loose dog, stating, “This is what dogs do to sheep”. In response to this, Murguia went to a local magazine, the Blackmore Vale and said: “I am a proud vegan and I am anti-farmers because they exploit animals. Farmers abuse the lambs from day one.

“Why people think [that] farmers care so much is just ignorant. I just wish people weren't so obsessed with eating meat full stop.

“Plant-based is so much better for the animals, for the environment and also for the ozone layer. But I feel I am in the minority and people are just blood-hungry.”

Murguia has now been banned from keeping sheep indefinitely after she was convicted of theft and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. She was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement and six rehabilitation activity days. An indefinite restraining order is also in place preventing Murguia from contacting Mr Ludwell or going to his farm.