Anti-Brexit lawyer who beat fox to death will not be prosecuted, RSPCA says

A prominent pro-Remain lawyer who bludgeoned a fox to death with a baseball bat will not be prosecuted for his actions, the RSPCA has announced.

Joylon Maugham QC, who has brought a series of legal challenges relating to Brexit, attacked the animal on Boxing Day after it became trapped in protective netting around his hen house in Central London.

Following an internal investigation, the RSPCA said on Thursday that there was no realistic prospect of Mr Maugham being convicted if it brought charges against him.

Animal rights groups criticised the decision and called for Mr Maugham, the founder of the Good Law Project, to face legal actions over the killing.

A spokesperson for Animal Aid told The Telegraph: "The important lesson from this is that it is not acceptable to be cruelly killing animals in this way, and there are lots of other deterrents that can be used if anyone else has issues with foxes.

"The fact that a fox was tangled, the lawyer should have contacted the RSPCA or another animal rescue service who would have been able to help him free the fox humanely."

Dominic Dyer, from the Badger Trust, said that "level of cruel violence" towards animals, especially from a "leading Queens Council", should not be tolerated.

After consulting independent experts, a veterinary pathologist and a forensic vet, the RSPCA concluded that the evidential threshold was not met because the findings indicated the fox was killed quickly.

Government guidelines say foxes must be killed "humanely" if caught in a trap or snare on a person's property.

Foxes, moles and mink are protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal can lead to a jail term of up to 51 weeks.

In a statement, the RSPCA said: "It is important to understand that it is not necessarily illegal to kill a fox, but if unnecessary suffering is caused then a criminal offence may have been committed.

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

"Therefore, in this case, the prosecution 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."

The RSPCA said it did not condone the killing of healthy animals.

Mr Maugham welcomed the decision, saying that there was "no basis" on which the RSPCA could "properly bring a private prosecution".

He became embroiled in a row when he tweeted on Boxing Day : "Already this morning I have killed a fox with a baseball bat. How is your Boxing Day going?"

More than 48,000 people have since signed an online petition calling for him to be prosecuted for his actions.

Mr Maugham, who has been a QC since 2015,  was behind a string of legal challenges to Brexit, including fighting the Government on prorogation in the Scottish courts and supporting Gina Miller's High Court battle to give MPs a vote on triggering Article 50.

He has said he is "profoundly sorry" for the upset he had caused by his actions over the fox and the "tone" of his tweet.