For the second straight year, a sheep has been stolen from the Natural Resources Trust of Easton, abused, and left inside of a dormitory at Stonehill College.
According to Robert Babineau, executive director of the trust, the sheep was taken Sept. 3, spray-painted in black, dressed in a bra, and placed inside a Stonehill dorm.
''This type of behavior is not consistent with the college's values nor does it represent the overwhelming number of compassionate students who make up our community," David DiNapoli, chief of campus police at Stonehill, said in a press release.
Officials believe that students at the college may be responsible for the theft because of a similar incident that occurred last year. A sheep was stolen from the trust, dressed in a bra, and put in a dormitory.
No paint was involved in the earlier incident.
Martin McGovern, a spokesman for Stonehill College, issued a statement from the college.
''The Stonehill community is deeply disappointed by an incident involving the taking of two animals from the Natural Resources Trust of Easton," he said in the release.
In the latest case, the sheep, as well as a chicken, were taken from an educational location of the trust's land on Main Street in Easton called the Sheep Pasture.
The area has been used by the trust as part of an educational program for the Easton school system since 1973. More than 2,400 Easton students visit the site each year.
Babineau said he was disappointed by what had happened to the animals but was encouraged by the response of the college and local police.
''I am convinced that Stonehill is trying to do all they can to try to identify the person or the people who were responsible for this," Babineau said.
While the chicken is unharmed, Babineau said, the sheep seemed distraught from the experience.
If found, the suspects are subject to several charges.
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