Two agricultural students who subjected a sheep to a prolonged and sadistic attack, including inserting fireworks into its mouth and body, have been jailed. Leighton Ashby, 22, and Oakley Hollands, 20, filmed the 30-minute ordeal on a mobile phone and kept the sheep's ear tag as a token, later hidden inside a Monster energy can in a communal toilet.
The pair, enrolled at Plumpton Agricultural College, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. Ashby was sentenced to two years in prison, while Hollands received a 20-month sentence at a youth offender institution. Hove Trial Centre heard that on 2 November 2023, the men invited fellow students to see a 'dead badger' before chasing and beating a sheep near Ditchling Beacon.
During the attack, Ashby kicked the sheep around five times to its head and torso, swinging it from side to side. Hollands filmed the incident, shouting 'go on, kill it, kill it, kill it' while laughing. When the sheep could no longer stand, explosive devices were inserted into its mouth and anus, causing fatal injuries. After returning to college, Ashby told Hollands they needed to wait a few weeks before doing it again.
The duo were reported to police after a female witness requested the videos be sent to her. Analysis of their phones revealed additional disturbing footage, including a dead fox being dismembered and a badger being kicked. Prosecutor Jordan Franks described a 'worrying pattern in the mutilation and destruction of animals', noting the men took 'a great deal of pleasure in the suffering they caused'.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Gold KC said: 'The ordeal suffered by that defenceless animal is graphically portrayed on the video footage... As if what had already been done was not bad enough, you decided to insert fireworks into the lamb to cause further suffering and mutilation.' Both defendants, from farming backgrounds, were excluded from the college. Hollands has ADHD, and Ashby has autism and learning difficulties.
