Taxpayers have so far paid more than €600,000 for three years of round-the-clock surveillance of a farm in Għarb where some 300 sheep await their death sentence.

The police are making sure the sheep and any of their products are not traded, due to fears they might be sick, pending the outcome of a drawn out legal battle.

The sheep formed part of a larger flock before the authorities raided Ġianni Attard’s farm in November 2012 and culled 216 sheep while he was under arrest at the Victoria police station in connection with the animals’ registration.

The sheep that are still alive were spared the cull after Mr Attard filed an urgent case asking for an injunction to stop the Department of Veterinary Services from slaughtering more animals. 

The money spent on police salaries and overtime exceeds the cost of the culled animals, which was estimated at €520,000. The sheep had been tested and none of them were sick.

Sources said far less would have been spent had the authorities tested each sheep individually. Tests would have cost about half the amount, they said.

But the future of the sheep remains in the balance pending the outcome of an appeal Mr Attard filed against a magistrate’s decision to revoke an order stopping their slaughter.  

Mr Attard is insisting that criminal action ought to be taken against all the people involved in the culling of 216 of his sheep, charged with breaching laws on animal welfare. None of the letters have been answered.