₤75,000 worth of pets stolen from Edinburgh and the Lothians

By Oliver Farrimond

PET rustlers have stolen more than ₤75,000 worth of animals in the past year.

The animals – including parrots, goldfish, sheep and a prize cockatiel worth ₤6,000 – were snatched from public spaces and homes, with some being returned to their owners, and others turning up dead.

Among the animals targeted in the Edinburgh and Lothian areas were a flock of 200 sheep worth ₤16,000 stolen from their field in the middle of the night, and four Herman tortoises boosted from a pet shop.

Brian Stuart, head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, based in West Lothian, said that animals were often targeted for lucrative black market trading.