Family find dead lambs in bag on country road

Warning: this article contains distressing images.

A seven-year-old boy was left distraught after he found a number of dead lambs in a bag while out litter-picking with his family.

Ursula Bradley, the boy's mother, said he was upset by the discovery.

"He had a lot of questions - as a parent that was really hard," she said.

As well as the bag containing the lambs, the decomposed carcasses of several other animals were also found in hedges and ditches nearby.

The lambs were found on a country road near the village of Cappagh in County Tyrone.

"We found two more dead lambs on the same road, it's the last thing you expect to find, it was awful for someone to dump them like that," Bradley said.

"There are a lot of families that walk these roads and my son was very upset that night, he was asking what he could do for the lambs, it was very upsetting."

In a statement, Mid Ulster District Council said it was made aware of the incident and had contacted the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

Daera confirmed that the case has been investigated by staff from the local veterinary office, but said "the lambs were untagged and therefore the keeper of the animals could not be identified".

"If anyone has information regarding the identity of those responsible, this should be directed to the local veterinary office," a spokesperson said.

Independent councillor Kevin McElvogue said it was not the first time animal remains had been dumped in the area.

"It has happened too many times in recent years, we've had lambs dumped, calves dumped, horses dumped, it makes me sick to my stomach," he said.

"I would say to people, if you have a dead animal, please dispose of them properly, there are companies locally that do it, it's the right thing to do."

Wider animal welfare concerns have been raised in the Mid Ulster Council area in recent weeks.

In March a horse had to be put down after it was found having seizures in a muddy field outside Dungannon.

Two more dead horses were also found near a wet ditch at the back of the field.

It was two weeks before the horses were removed from the field.

Daera is responsible for the welfare of farmed animals whereas councils are responsible for the welfare of domestic pets in Northern Ireland, including horses.

New figures obtained by BBC News NI show that during the past five years there were 262 convictions at court in Northern Ireland for animal welfare or cruelty offences.

Almost 75% of the convictions related to male offenders.

Further down the road from the recently discovered dead lambs near Cappagh, there are larger skeletal animal remains in a ditch.

McElvogue said they appeared to be remains of either horses or cows.

He says there has been a general problem of waste dumping and fly tipping in the area in recent years.

"We have had problems with litter and waste dumping, and the whole reason we organised the litter-pick was for the community to come together and improve their area", he said.

New figures obtained by BBC News NI showed that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) recorded more than 3,400 waste dumping incidents across Northern Ireland between 2020 to 2025.

More than 150 incidents related to animal dumping.

Between 2020 and 2025 there were 31 convictions at Northern Ireland courts for fly tipping offences, resulting in a fine.

The majority of those convicted were male.

Bradley said the issue of dumping animal carcasses escalated fly tipping and dumping matters to a different level.

"I understand that animals will die in farming situations and like that, it's inevitable but there is a humane way of disposing them, not this, it's actually disgusting," she said.