The Journal leads with a full front page story about a farmer out at Brayford who shot four foxes. Well I'm no friend of the fox of lost some many hens to them over the years I should be saying fair play to him. But, I don't know there is something to this story which just doesn't seem to ring true. Plus, I can't see why it should warrant a front page in the Journal, complete with two photos one with the bloke aiming his gun at us the reader and the next he's cuddling a lamb and propping himself up with a shepherd's crook. So basically it's saying he likes cute animal really but anyone or anything that threatens to eat or interfere with his stock, cute or not, is going to get the benefit of both barrels. Fair enough, but hang on, read a bit deeper into the story and things start getting a bit strange.
Apparently, he had been made aware by a neighbouring farmer that a white van had pulled up and four foxes had been jettisoned from the back of it onto his land. All this happened at 11.30pm, so it was dark. Unless, Brayford is in the land of permanent daylight, you never know out there. So, on getting the call from his neighbour, don't forget this is a fellow farmer so you have to assume he isn't going to be exactly next door, sometime later he heads off across his fields to see what's going on. Whereupon, he comes across the four foxes and blasts them to be bits. Now are you telling me that these recently released foxes are going to have stayed where they were dropped off, just lolloping about, kicking their paws in the lane looking all dazed and confused and a bit pissed off as they didn't know where they were? No, come off it. He's having us on, especially since he didn't report the occurrences to the Police, nor did he produce any evidence ie. like four fox carcasses or a corroborative witness such as his neighbour, he said he'd incinerated them. I don't know about the neighbour he could have just shot him. Perhaps, he'd been to Planet Barbecue (for all your bbq needs).
What he did do was to contact the Journal, the Countryside Alliance and the NFU who were quoted in the article. I smell something fishy. The article leaves us with the conclusion that bleddy vermin loving, lily livered do-gooder townies, all soft in the head they just don't need them interfering out at Brayford.
A note to animal lovers: I reckon that in all probability no foxes were harmed in the creation of this story.
What else was new in this weeks Journal? Nothing same old trite tripe about charities, the Journal acting out it's role as the contemporary pillory by naming and shaming the usual parade of unfortunates through North Devon Magistrates court and Barnstaple Town lose again. Fortunately, they aren't being relegated so premiership football will once again be on offer down at Mill Road next season.
Actually, the new column Mum's the Word could be a sleeper hit judging from it's first edition. Apparently, the columnist loves new born babies. Well I never, another inciting look at North Devon life courtesy of the NDJH
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