Gary Green has a number of foxing permissions within striking distance of his home in Essex. They range from the huge free-range poultry farm to a couple of smallholdings with just a handful of birds each. The numbers may be different, but the smallholders care every bit as much about their birds – indeed, the loss of a single bird is far more significant when you own 12 rather than 12,000.
gary green
Dog Eat Dog
Gary Green’s reputation as ‘the fox man’ goes before him, so he often gets calls from farmers and smallholders about a troublesome fox. The latest request, however, took him by surprise. It came through his contacts at the turkey farm, but this time it wasn’t about protecting poultry. This was a boarding kennels – and the marauding Charlie had killed two Chihuahuas.
Sunset Stake-Out
Unlucky for some
A Fox in Broad Daylight
Fox shooting is generally a night-time activity, and most of Gary Green’s work is done in the dark. But foxes don’t keep strict hours, and you can find one up and about at any time of the day or night. That’s a good job, because there are some places you simply can’t go letting off a gun in the middle of the night – places like the smallholding I visited recently with Gary.
Poultry Effort
Fox shooting is a sport and a way of life for Gary Green, but it’s also a big responsibility. One of his customers is a free-range poultry farm that supplies many of London’s most famous restaurants. It’s where Gary built his luxurious fox box – basically a garden shed with a wide opening to shoot from, on top of a shipping container.
Back up the high seat
Gary Green had some catching up to do. On top of the usual demands of Christmas and New Year, he’d spent a few days away in Orkney shooting geese. With all that and the need to protect the turkeys at the local free-range poultry farm, he hadn’t spent as much time as usual at his other permissions. He just knew that the foxes would be taking advantage, especially at the time of year when the dog foxes are on the move.