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On the lamb: 50 sheep break away from flock and storm German supermarket
Ewes and lambs coaxed out of store in Burgsinn after about 20 minutes,
leaving trail of destruction in drinks section

Deborah Cole in Berlin
Thu 8 Jan 2026 17.37 GMT

About 50 wayward sheep broke off from their flock and stormed a discount supermarket in a German town, startling and delighting customers as the
animals rushed to explore the aisles before being escorted from the
premises.
The woolly incursion occurred on Monday during a routine seasonal migration
of the sheep in the Bavarian municipality of Burgsinn. A few dozen of the
sheep had other ideas about the route and made their way into a store of
the Penny retail chain.

rCLIt was impossible to tell whether the sheep were looking for something particular on offer or just wanted to warm up,rCY the company said in a statement, noting that the flock seemed particularly fond of the checkout
area where shoppers and staff were present.

Witnesses said that while the animals resisted the urge to nibble their way through the fresh produce on display, their foray into the store left a
path of destruction in the drinks section as their bustling knocked glass bottles and other products from the shelves.
Video showed the sheep bleating but otherwise looking more curious than
anxious amid the detritus.
rCLThe approximately 20 customers present reportedly took the spontaneous animal visit in their stride,rCY said Philipp Stiehler, the board chair of
the Penny subsidiary in south-west Germany.

After about 20 minutes, the sheep were coaxed out the door and rejoined
their flock.
The German embassy in London couldnrCOt resist a pun-filled post about the fluffy new mascots. rCL50 runaway sheep ram-paged through a German
supermarket in rural Baa-varia, causing shear mania on Monday morning,rCY it posted on X. rCLAfter breaking away from their 500-strong herd, the brazen sheep spent 20mins milling around in the Penny supermarket before
ewe-turning and seeing themselves out.rCY
Stiehler dismissed speculation that Penny planned to bill their shepherd
for the damage or cleaning costs, with the company instead seizing on the nationwide media attention and viral posts to say it wanted to sponsor feed
for the 50 runaways for a year.
Dieter Michler, the shepherd, told the public broadcaster Bayerischer
Rundfunk he had been taking 500 sheep rCo ewes with their lambs rCo to their winter shelter. He guessed at least some of the 50 animals were distracted
by acorns on the ground, leading the others astray as they lost contact
with the rest of the flock.
Then, he said, rCLsomeone must have walked into the supermarket with a bag
and they followedrCY, seeing something that to them could have resembled concentrated feed or a sack of salt, which are used to feed the sheep.
rCLI wouldnrCOt have thought it possible that they would voluntarily walk into the supermarket,rCY Michler said.
A customer drove to catch up with Michler and the rest of his sheep and
told him about the escaped animalsrCO unexpected excursion. By the time the herder arrived they were back in the car park after staff made loud noises
to shoo them out of the supermarket.
Michler said the animals were doing well after the excitement. rCLAs soon as they were with the flock they were happy again,rCY he said.

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