Northamptonshire Police have asked butchers, in particular, as well as the general public, to be vigilant after a contaminated meat warning was raised on the Northamptonshire and Rutland border.
Five sheep have been stolen on two separate occasions from land around Cottingham, five of which were found having been killed and skinned for their meat.
The main concern with this issue is that before these sheep were stolen, they were given Noromectin, a drug used to treat worms in sheep.
The usual safety advice given concerning sheep, is that they must have been slaughtered at least 42 days after the last treatment was given.
Although the risk is not great, the company which produces Noromectin claim it has the potential to cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Butchers should be on alert if approached by someone with sheepmeat available to buy. The theft could also impact local butchers as police have asked the public to be wary of anyone selling meat in the area.
A police spokesman said: “We'd ask the public to be very vigilant of people selling meat in the area, in particular local butchers who might be approached.”
Anyone with information about the sheep thefts can contact Northamptonshire police on 101.
Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
