British lawyer claims he killed fox with baseball bat while wearing wife's kimono, sparks backlash, investigation

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A prominent lawyer in London has sparked viral fame – and an investigation – after he tweeted on December 26th that he had killed a fox with a baseball bat while wearing a kimono.

Jolyon Maugham, who is known in the United Kingdom for spearheading numerous legal challenges against Brexit, sparked an immediate backlash from his nearly 180,000 followers after he tweeted at 8:10 a.m. local time Thursday that he had killed the animal.

Jolyon Maugham QC sparked viral fame - and an investigation - after tweeting that he killed clobbered a fox to death with a baseball bat while wearing his wife's green kimono.  (PA via Getty)

“Already this morning I have killed a fox with a baseball bat. How’s your Boxing Day going?” he wrote.

Many users sought context as to why Maugham had beaten a fox to death with a bat, while others claimed his tweet was “distressing.”

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Giving further details, Maugham said he was nursing a hangover and wearing his wife’s “too small green kimono” when the fox got into his backyard and threatened chickens he keeps.

He said his chickens were “pretty distressed” at the sight of the fox.

“Even after the fox bad been dispatched they were still upset by its presence,” he wrote. “Not sure what would have happened had I left the live fox in situ (sic) about two feet from the chickens.”

Replying to several tweets, Maugham said killing the fox was “not a great deal of fun” and that he didn’t “enjoy killing it.”

“No one should relish killing animals – I certainly didn’t. But if you haven’t been up close to a large trapped fox, perhaps reserve judgment,” he tweeted.

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Twitter users were quick to condemn Maugham’s actions and called on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

The RSPCA said in a tweet that they were aware of the situation regarding the fox and “would like to reassure people that we’re investigating.”

“Due to a very high volume of tweets, unfortunately, we can’t respond to every single one, and are unable to provide further comment right now. Thank you for understanding.”

According to the BBC, government guidelines state that someone can use cage traps and snares to catch foxes and you must “humanely kill any fox you catch while it’s in the trap or snare.”

Maugham said he had contacted the RSPCA to see if he had broken the law when he clubbed the animal to death.

After the backlash, Maugham apologized: “Sorry to those upset by my tweet. My chickens were very distressed by the fox – both before and after I’d dispatched it – and I wanted it out of the way quickly.”

He then said he was “slightly shocked by the whole tooth-and-claw experience” of his tweet going viral and what he was “trying to convey.”

“But my tweet, one of a number about keeping chickens in urban London, should have conveyed that better,” he wrote.

An RSPCA spokesperson said it was "very distressing to hear" of the incident.

Isobel Hutchinson, director of the Animal Aid charity, told the Daily Mail: "It is absolutely shocking that this wild animal was condemned to such a brutal death."

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She added: "While encountering wild animals is a great privilege, we do of course appreciate that there can be conflict between them and people. However, there is no need to resort to the brutality of killing them, as there are many methods of deterring wild animals humanely. We would urge anyone who is experiencing problems with foxes to contact one of the excellent humane deterrence services."