Spray painting sheep is nothing new.

Usually it's done by farmers to mark them. But kidnapping a sheep and spraying ISIS onto its side? That's beyond a joke, though, according to animal welfare groups in New Zealand.

The sheep, named Gracie, went missing from the suburb of Devonport, Auckland, and was found wandering the streets on Wednesday night.

She was spotted after approaching Kate Sheen and her husband - which was probably a bit of a surprise for them.

On one side, Gracie, who is kept as a pet, was painted with the common cannabis codeword "420".

On the other, the words "ISIS" had been scrawled in black paint.

The executive director of New Zealand animal welfare group Save Animals From Exploitation, Hans Kriek, told Auckland Now that the prank was stupid and would have caused unnecessary stress to the animal.

"On the scale of animal cruelty, it's not at the worst level, but it's still stupid and it would have been highly stressful for the animal," he said.

"Sheep are by nature really nervous animals, all that would have been unnecessary stress."

According to North Shore Pets, a Facebook group which helps reunite lost and found pets in the area, the sheep was taken to a nearby sanctuary where she was later claimed by her grateful owners.

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