QC killed a fox but is gunning for “factory farming”

[curlietailz]

Dunno if you’ve seen that QC Jolyon Maugham clubbed a fox to death in his garden this morning ( an illegal act). then tweeted about it( a stupid act) ...then it went viral and uproar ensued.... RSPCA are investigating and as clubbing a fox can result in a prison sentence it’s a pretty serious thing for a QC to brazenly brag about ( patently the RSPCA have been and retrieved fox remains) (I believe everything I read in the papers!!)
Then
He tweets again
This
“... I’ve already started to investigate the enormous harm done by factory farming, with a view to acting in that space in 2020 ....”

 

[farmerm]

Proof someone can be intelligent but not smart

 

[yellowbelly]

I've always said London was a strange place - it seems that Queens Councillors have now taken to running round their gardens dressed in short, green, silk kimonos wielding baseball bats

 

[David.]

Is it an offence to kill a fox humanely with a swift chap to the head then?
Surely, quite rightly if it was the case, the offence is causing unnecessary suffering, rather than the choice of weapon.

 

[curlietailz]

Probably a really dubious legal area
Internet search says
“The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996, was the first Act designed to protect any and all wild mammals. Section 1 of the Act states that if ‘any person mutilates, kicks, beats, nails or otherwise impales, stabs, burns, stones, crushes, drags or asphyxiates any wild mammal with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering, he shall be guilty of an offence’.”

 

[David.]

"With intent to inflict unnecessary suffering"...

 

[Swarfmonkey]

This
“... I’ve already started to investigate the enormous harm done by factory farming, with a view to acting in that space in 2020 ....”

WTF would a tax lawyer know about "harm done by" factory farming? Unless, of course, it's just QC speak for "I'm going to find some stupid activist types that'll pay my eye watering hourly rate to talk crap in court".

 

[Scribus]

Dunno if you’ve seen that QC Jolyon Maugham clubbed a fox to death in his garden this morning ( an illegal act). then tweeted about it( a stupid act) ...then it went viral and uproar ensued.... RSPCA are investigating and as clubbing a fox can result in a prison sentence it’s a pretty serious thing for a QC to brazenly brag about ( patently the RSPCA have been and retrieved fox remains) (I believe everything I read in the papers!!)
Then
He tweets again
This
“... I’ve already started to investigate the enormous harm done by factory farming, with a view to acting in that space in 2020 ....”

Diversionary tactic.

'Look at me your honour, I hate to see animals suffer so much that I wrote a letter to the world (or those who were listening anyway) about the evils of factory farming.'

He's simply preparing his defence in the usual oily manner of lawyers the world over, but it strikes me he's in a right old panic.

 

[teslacoils]

Good Law Project website is interesting reading. Sounds like a ctrowdfunded vehicle to repeatedly sue the government, and very much of the "look at me, look at me , look at me now" school of attention-seeking self-promotion.

 

[JP1]

"With intent to inflict unnecessary suffering"...

They had another QC quoting the law on this on R4 this morning

He majored on the "intent" bit and also the circumstances. It would appear legally it was possibly justified as being trapped and despatching it rather than showing intent to stop it killing his chickens

The trouble is the next law that comes in to play doesn't even need intent but the trapped fox then becomes the lawyer's problem as it's welfare is de facto in his care. This is same issue as the deer run over by a car thread. Suddenly your cations can be scrutinised by every townie and "animal lover". Stop and help and it becomes your problem / liability

I always roll my eyes when I hear "animal lovers" deciding folks should have called the RSPCA

Packham has waded in citing how he's always kept chickens and it's the human's fault for not making a secure pen

 

[Scribus]

Never fear, Danllan will be along shortly to defend his buddy and put us oiks right in the workings of the world!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If a fox is attacking your hens dont you have the right to do someing about it . Self Defence !

 

[David.]

If you have the authority to kill something, I'm not sure it matters what you dead it with.
What matters is that you do not cause unnecessary suffering.
Unless like with some deer species, a minimum calibre is specified. Even then I'm fairly certain that in an emergency roadside situation, common sense can prevail.

 

[Paddington]

Guilty of breaking the eleventh commandment - thou shall not get found out.

 

[Paddington]

Is running about your garden in your wife's kimono what the legal profession call taking silk ? @Danllan

 

[Scribus]

Is running about your garden in your wife's kimono what the legal profession call taking silk ? @Danllan

If yer man had left it a bit longer the fox would have probably died laughing anyway.

 

[curlietailz]

Got to worry about his judgement when he needed to tell the world via Twitter though ??

 

[Swarfmonkey]

@teslacoils

Looks like "lawfare" to me - in the same way that Wild Justice is - and it's only going to get worse as more and more special interest groups go down that route when their conventional protests don't work. It's about time the Tories passed a law that those who financially support such groups also become financially responsible for all the costs when they lose cases. That would make a few of them think twice about supporting spurious legal action.

 

[teslacoils]

Aye. Sad times. Tories won't do anything - suing government and getting costs is not much different from milking defence budgets etc. They shout a lot, but probably best mates behind the scenes.

 

[spin cycle]

don't like the fella much but can't see he's done anything wrong......bragging about it makes him a huge pr*ck mind