He wasn't killing foxes? Or he wasn't charged with that anyway.
I've said elsewhere, no matter what we think of the law, it is the law, and if you break it then you got to take the consequence that un informed detached people (magistrates) will inflict on you.
It is fact, rightly or wrongly, that if you go out to break the law, then the courts will seek to confiscate or destroy those tools you have used to break the law with, punishment is harsh, you have to be sure the risks are worth it.