The grim discovery was made by a member of the public next to a track near Penicuik on January 3 as campaigners believe an entire family group of foxes were “slaughtered” and draped over a fence for “display”.
It comes as Charles claims to be at one with nature in his “Finding Harmony” documentary, which gives viewers behind-the-scenes access to his environmental work, and is out this week.
Campaigners have written to the King urging him to intervene after the person came across the 12 bloodied bodies on the boundary of a tenanted farm owned by Crown Estate Scotland.
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As well as notifying the campaign group League Against Cruel Sports, the “distressed” member of the public who encountered the dead foxes also informed Police Scotland who launched a probe into the incident.
Robbie Marsland, director of Scotland and Northern Ireland for the League Against Cruel Sports, said the finding of 12 foxes “shot and strung up like trophies” on Crown Estate land is “grotesque”.
“This wholesale slaughter isn’t about protecting livestock,” he said.
“It’s about protecting pheasants from foxes so more birds can be shot for sport. It’s killing to kill, dressed up as countryside management.
“What makes this even more senseless is the scientific futility of it all, especially in winter. Since the 1980s, Scottish Government scientists have known that when you kill a fox, another moves into their territory within a week. Competition between foxes for territories is intense, a point recently highlighted by David Attenborough’s ‘Wild London’.”
Marsland added: “The bitter irony is that this is happening on land owned by the King, just as he prepares to launch a documentary about living in harmony with nature.
“These dead animals represent everything His Majesty’s Harmony philosophy opposes. It’s time for the killing to end and Scotland’s wildlife to get the respect it deserves.”
(Image: League Against Cruel Sports)
Although the King is not directly involved in managing Crown Estate land, he ultimately owns it.
Marsland said: “The League is calling on His Majesty to insist that his tenants put down their guns and pick up the science, because killing foxes achieves nothing except betraying the very values he’s asking the world to embrace.”
Police investigated the incident but said it found no evidence of criminality, according to the Sunday Mail.
Farmers reportedly claimed the 12 foxes killed were part of an “ongoing programme” of fox control ahead of lambing season, which typically runs through March and April.
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Campaigners claimed that the area in which the foxes were shot is used for game bird shooting and that the time of year strongly “suggests” that the shooting of the foxes was not related to lambing, as it was “far too early in the season” for lambing to commence.
They added that the farmers explanation also did not explain why the foxes had been displayed like a “trophy wall”.
In a letter to Charles, Emma Slawinski, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, wrote: “Your Majesty, the dead foxes displayed on Crown Estate land are emblematic of an outdated approach to land management that ignores science, disregards animal welfare, and treats nature as something to be conquered rather than lived with.
“As you prepare to share your vision of Harmony with the world through your documentary, we hope you will ensure that Crown Estate land becomes a living demonstration of those principles. Scotland’s wildlife deserves the respect and protection that Your Majesty has so eloquently advocated for throughout your life.”