POWERFUL bullets which expand and splinter on contact were used to kill the three foxes whose blood-stained bodies were found on the car park of Wrexham’s Asda store on Monday morning.

The vet who carried out a post mortem examination on the animals at the Leader’s instigation said he and colleagues have never in their experience seen such small animals slaughtered in this way, with such “unbelievable” damage being caused.

The bullets smashed the spines of two of the foxes and ripped their bodies apart.

And he fears for public safety if the animals were killed on the car park by someone using such ammunition in a high-powered rifle.

As the Leader revealed on Tuesday the bodies were discovered by shocked Asda staff dumped in the recycling area between 8.30am and 9am on Monday.

The Leader was alerted to the scene by a shopper who said she was “sickened” after making the grisly discovery.

The bodies were taken away by Wrexham Council which, through the Leader,
arranged for them to be examined by veterinary surgeon Denis Callanan of Borras Park Vets in Wrexham.

After carrying out the post mortem, he said: “There was one adult male with a male and a female both under a year old.

“The x-rays we did showed they had all been shot by soft-nosed bullets - sometimes known as dum dums - which was quite a surprise.

“These bullets are primarily intended for killing large animals like deer, or vermin. My colleagues and I have never seen them used to kill foxes before.

“There was unbelievable damage. The spines of two of the foxes had been completely smashed and there were large areas of tissue damage.

“They were obviously killed very quickly.

“However, the big puzzle is whether they were shot elsewhere and then dumped at Asda, or actually shot where they were found.

“If they were shot on the car park I would have thought the police would be interested in what someone with such a powerful weapon was doing there.”

The use of dum dum bullets has been banned in warfare by international convention for some years.

But they were used by police officers in the controversial killing of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes on the London underground in 2005 in the mistaken belief he was a terrorist.

A spokesman for North Wales Police said: “We haven’t had any reports regarding this matter.

“If anyone has information as to why these animals were shot and dumped in this way please contact PC Eryl Lloyd on 101.”