Around 80 demonstrators gathered on a chilly, grey Monday morning at Hove Courts in Sussex this week to witness the sentencing of two men for the appalling torture and killing of a young ewe, subsequently named Eunice by campaigners. The men arrived to a ‘lively’ reception; they left in a Serco van, heading for prison.

Leighton Ashby (22) and Oakley Hollands (20), both from Kent, had been students at Plumpton College in Sussex when, on 2 November 2023, they captured the sheep on Ditchling Beacon. They kicked and beat her then stuffed fireworks into her prone body.

While the judge heard from defence and Crown Prosecution Service lawyers over the course of the morning, those of us gathered outside heard victim statements and spoke to the press, with the case generating a lot of national and local media interest. One point made by many was the wider exploitation and abuse of all farmed animals within our food systems.

This case highlighted the contempt and lack of compassion of some of those in the farming sector – both men came from farming families and were studying at the agriculture college which this year is celebrating its centenary. The judge, Jeremy Gold, described the attack as “sadistic” and regarded the men as “presenting a high risk to animals in the future”. Footage of the attack was found on Hollands’ phone.

Ashby was sentenced to two years in prison, Hollands was sent to a young offender institution for 20 months. Both were disqualified from owning animals for ten years. Although the maximum possible sentence was five years, the news that they had received custodial sentences was greeted with cheers outside the court building.

Following the departure of the two men, some of the demonstrators marched through local roads to Hove Town Hall, where a poem was read, music was played and flowers laid for Eunice, an innocent, defenceless creature who had the misfortune to cross paths with evil on that November night.

Photo credit: The Argus/Eddie Mitchell