When Dennis Rowsell read in his Daily Mail about a giant 26lb fox, almost twice the size of an averaged-sized fox, that was humanely killed by a vet after it ate a cat sleeping on its front doormat in Maidstone, Kent, he must have been less than impressed.
Because Mr Rowsell, who lives on the edge of Somerset's Quantock Hills, shot a fox weighing an incredible 34lb.
Mr Rowsell has 40 years’ experience of fox shooting and is called on by farmers whose lambs and chickens are being preyed upon. He legally shoots up to 600 foxes a year.
And he believes foxes are getting larger because of the amount of food provided to them by humans.
The Handbook of British Mammals says the average fox weighs up to 15lb.
Fox numbers are increasing in Britain, especially since foxhunting was outlawed in 2005. It's estimated that there are a whopping 34,000 in urban areas alone.
Now THAT'S what I call a big fox: Vermin hunter shows off 34lb beast he killed
By David Wilkes
8th January 2011
Daily Mail
When Dennis Rowsell read in the Daily Mail about a 26lb urban fox believed to have eaten a cat, he was less impressed than most.
For one of the creature’s country cousins which he shot weighed an astonishing 34lb – more than 25 per cent heavier.
‘Over the years I’ve seen the odd big fox,’ said Mr Rowsell, 53, who lives on the edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset.
Dennis Rowsell with the 34lb fox he shot in Somerset
‘I believe that there is a strain round here that is genetically bigger than average. But I’ve never come across one this size before.’
No big deal: The 26lb fox shot in Maidstone, Kent
This week the Mail reported how vet Keith Talbot killed a dog fox which was 4ft from its nose to the tip of its brush.
He trapped the animal after it apparently devoured his parents’ 19-year-old tabby Amber while she was sleeping on the front doormat in Maidstone, Kent.
Its size amazed experts who said they believed it to be the biggest in the country.
The Handbook of British Mammals says the average fox weighs up to 15lb, with reports of up to 22lb.
But the Maidstone specimen was more than half a stone lighter than the ‘big old boy’ bagged by Mr Rowsell, which was also 4ft long.
‘The fangs on one side of his mouth were missing and I estimate he was about eight or ten years old, near the end of a fox’s lifespan,’ he said.
Mr Rowsell has 40 years’ experience of fox shooting and is called on by farmers whose lambs and chickens are being preyed upon. He legally shoots up to 600 foxes a year.
He believes the foxes in the area are getting bigger because of the ‘easy pickings’ on offer from bins in picnic areas, plus discarded leftovers from burger vans.
Mr Rowsell has not spoken before publicly of the giant fox, shot and weighed before a witness in June 2009, but came forward following reports of the Maidstone monster.
The internet-based Fieldsports Channel yesterday confirmed his fox as the winner of a competition to find the largest in Britain.
But Mr Rowsell said: ‘I bet there are even bigger ones out there somewhere.’
dailymail.co.uk
Because Mr Rowsell, who lives on the edge of Somerset's Quantock Hills, shot a fox weighing an incredible 34lb.
Mr Rowsell has 40 years’ experience of fox shooting and is called on by farmers whose lambs and chickens are being preyed upon. He legally shoots up to 600 foxes a year.
And he believes foxes are getting larger because of the amount of food provided to them by humans.
The Handbook of British Mammals says the average fox weighs up to 15lb.
Fox numbers are increasing in Britain, especially since foxhunting was outlawed in 2005. It's estimated that there are a whopping 34,000 in urban areas alone.
Now THAT'S what I call a big fox: Vermin hunter shows off 34lb beast he killed
By David Wilkes
8th January 2011
Daily Mail
When Dennis Rowsell read in the Daily Mail about a 26lb urban fox believed to have eaten a cat, he was less impressed than most.
For one of the creature’s country cousins which he shot weighed an astonishing 34lb – more than 25 per cent heavier.
‘Over the years I’ve seen the odd big fox,’ said Mr Rowsell, 53, who lives on the edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset.
Dennis Rowsell with the 34lb fox he shot in Somerset
‘I believe that there is a strain round here that is genetically bigger than average. But I’ve never come across one this size before.’
No big deal: The 26lb fox shot in Maidstone, Kent
This week the Mail reported how vet Keith Talbot killed a dog fox which was 4ft from its nose to the tip of its brush.
He trapped the animal after it apparently devoured his parents’ 19-year-old tabby Amber while she was sleeping on the front doormat in Maidstone, Kent.
Its size amazed experts who said they believed it to be the biggest in the country.
The Handbook of British Mammals says the average fox weighs up to 15lb, with reports of up to 22lb.
But the Maidstone specimen was more than half a stone lighter than the ‘big old boy’ bagged by Mr Rowsell, which was also 4ft long.
‘The fangs on one side of his mouth were missing and I estimate he was about eight or ten years old, near the end of a fox’s lifespan,’ he said.
Mr Rowsell has 40 years’ experience of fox shooting and is called on by farmers whose lambs and chickens are being preyed upon. He legally shoots up to 600 foxes a year.
He believes the foxes in the area are getting bigger because of the ‘easy pickings’ on offer from bins in picnic areas, plus discarded leftovers from burger vans.
Mr Rowsell has not spoken before publicly of the giant fox, shot and weighed before a witness in June 2009, but came forward following reports of the Maidstone monster.
The internet-based Fieldsports Channel yesterday confirmed his fox as the winner of a competition to find the largest in Britain.
But Mr Rowsell said: ‘I bet there are even bigger ones out there somewhere.’
dailymail.co.uk
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