Rare Shropshire sheep destined for slaughter stolen by Farmers Peace Corp in Ontario

Linda Jones had mixed feelings when she went to the barn on her eastern Ontario farm and discovered her flock of 31 heritage Shropshire Sheep had vanished.

"It was a shock and a relief," Jones, 53, who likes to be called Montana, told the National Post.

The source of her ambivalence: the sheep were scheduled to be killed under a Canadian Food Inspection Agency order to combat a potential outbreak of scrapie, a degenerative illness that's considered the mad-cow disease of sheep.

An Alberta sheep tested positive for scrapie in 2010. Its owner said the animal came from Jones' flock of rare Shropshire Sheep. The diseased sheep's identifying ear tag was missing but her flock was put under quarantine. The watchdog agency later ordered her entire flock killed as a precaution.

The website Alberta Farmer reported the flock tested negative for scrapie in live biopsies and that none of the animals had shown symptoms, according to submissions by her lawyer. Jones fought an unsuccessful legal battle to save her sheep, whose lineage dates back to the first sheep imported into Canada from England.

"In the 12 years I've had the flock I've not seen any symptoms of scrapie. It is pretty obvious when they have it," she told the Post.

"I'm not against the eradication of scrapie in Canada but what I don't want to happen to my flock, or any rare breed sheep, is to have them all killed and tested only to have them come up with all negative results. It's such a waste."

Alternatives such as subjecting her sheep to a less reliable form of live testing, killing only some of them to test their brain tissue and quarantining the flock were rejected by the agency. Officials were scheduled to kill the sheep and take their heads for testing earlier this month. Jones and supporters had planned a protest rally, but when officials showed up ... no sheep.

Instead, they found a hand-written note saying the flock had been taken into "protective custody" by animal activists calling themselves the Farmers Peace Corp.

Now the Ontario Provincial Police are on the case.

"The OPP is actively trying to locate the missing sheep," said Const. Phil Clarke. "There is a direction to the investigation and we are aware of the note."

Jones professes to know nothing about the theft.

"I have no idea where they are," she said. "I naively thought they might have contacted me."

"I'm glad they're not dead, which was the alternative. I hope they're safe. Whoever took them seems to have the best intentions but it's stressful. It's not the same around here without them."

Jones said she put instructions online on how to care for the sheep and requested the abductors keep them quarantined.

Meanwhile, she continues to challenge the kill order in court.

"While we recognize that disease control activities can be difficult on producers, the eradication of animal diseases, such as scrapie, is critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sheep industry," federal chief veterinary officer Dr. Brian Evans said in a Canadian Food Inspection Agency release.