TIME animals

Man Stopped by Police in England for Driving to McDonald’s With Sheep in Backseat

This old farmer had a McDonald's

“Two bald tires and a sheep in the boot” might sound like the last line of a nursery rhyme, or maybe a long-lost Dave Matthews Band album from the 1990s, but it’s also the reason that police stopped a driver in northern England this week.

The man had a large sheep tucked in the back of his small Peugeot 206, and police were concerned it might constitute an “insecure load,” local paper the Northern Echo reports. When they pulled the man over, they also discovered two of his tires were on the verge of puncture.

The man said the sheep was from his farm and that he just wanted to take it out with him while he grabbed a burger at McDonald’s. “Some people take their dogs in their cars, I take my sheep,” he reportedly told the officers who pulled him over.

“He seemed fine to be honest — although he obviously felt a little sheepish when we pointed out the two bald tires,” Chris Marlow, one of the officers, told the Echo, earning a round of applause from pun lovers everywhere.

Concluding that a sheep in the backseat did not present any more risk than a large dog would, the officers chose not to take the man in for questioning. But did they send him home with a ticket, anyway?

Ewe bet.

[The Northern Echo]

Wildlife Smuggled Through Airport Security

Thailand Tiger Luggage Handout photo of Giant African Snails confiscated at Los Angeles International Airport Bird Smuggler Caught With His Pants Down Thailand Wildlife Trafficking Australia Pigeon Pants An officer from Singapore's Immigration Sony Dong TOPSHOTSAn Indonesian customs officer s A woman arrived in Melbourne, Australia on a flight from Singapore with 51 live tropical fish hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt on June 6, 2005. Customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from her waist. Philippines Sailfin Lizards IN FRIGHT SERVICEA plane passenger with dozens of deadly tarantula spiders hidden in his luggage was arrested as he tried to smuggle the creepy-crawly cargo past customs officials in Zurich Airport, Switzerland.The male passenger - who has not been named by police - had stashed the spiders in six boxes hidden in a suitcase he'd brought in on a flight from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.The specimens - all endangered Mexican red kneed tarantulas - are understood to have died of cold during the flight.Experts say they can live for up to 30 years and adults have a leg span of up to six inches. (Newscom TagID: epphotos014605.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]
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