Top QC Jolyon Maugham 'will not be prosecuted' for killing fox with baseball bat while wearing wife's kimono

The prominent anti-Brexit barrister tweeted that he clubbed a fox to death at his home on Boxing Day

Animal welfare charity the RSCPA will not prosecute a prominent lawyer who admitted to killing a fox which got into his hen house on Boxing Day.

Jolyon Maugham sparked fury at Christmas when he tweeted about using a baseball bat to kill the animal.

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Top QC posts on Twitter that he clubbed a fox to death while wearing a kimono on...
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A petition calling for his prosecution gathered more than 48,000 signatures.

No prospect of conviction

Charity chiefs say that although they do not condone the killing of healthy foxes, there is no realistic prospect of conviction.

Mr Maugham, founder of the Good Law Project, said on Twitter last year: "Already this morning I have killed a fox with a baseball bat. How's your Boxing Day going?"

Jolyon Maugham sparked controversy at Christmas when he posted on social media about killing a fox. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell (Getty)Jolyon Maugham sparked controversy at Christmas when he posted on social media about killing a fox. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell (Getty)
Jolyon Maugham sparked controversy at Christmas when he posted on social media about killing a fox. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell (Getty)

He claimed the fox had got caught up in the protective netting around his chickens and he "wasn't sure what else to do".

Mr Maugham later apologised on Twitter.

In a statement, the RSPCA said: "An independent post mortem and forensic veterinary assessment of the fox's body was carried out and findings indicate the fox was killed swiftly.

"Therefore, in this case, the prosecutions department determined that the evidential threshold needed to take a prosecution under the CPS code was not met under any legislation relating to animals or wildlife."

Is killing foxes a crime?

It is not illegal to kill a fox, but Government guidelines state that if a fox is caught in a trap or snare on a person's property, they must be "humanely" killed.

Mr Maugham said he "welcomed" the decision.

He said: "I note what the RSPCA says about killing a fox. Their advice differs from the Government's advice to householders which says one "must" - in other words, you have no choice but to - humanely kill any fox caught on your property and that you "shouldn't release captured foxes".

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"I know that some were genuinely upset by my actions on Boxing Day and the tone of my tweets. I am profoundly sorry for that upset.

"It was my intention to convey in a gently self-deprecating manner the incongruity of my Boxing Day morning. I got that wrong.

"As to my actions, in the situation in which I found myself - needing to act in great haste to save the chickens my family keeps - I did not have the luxury of time to reflect on the competing ethical approaches of the RSPCA and Natural England.

"Of course, I respect the different assessments others might, equally reasonably, have made."