'Goodleigh Giant' stag shot by poacher

An imperious stag that was expected to mature into the largest in the country has been shot dead by a poacher on private land in North Devon.

The Goodleigh Giant, as the creature has since become known, was killed little short of a year after another stag, the so-called Exmoor Emperor, was felled by a licensed hunter to national outrage. That killing was legal but this incident is unlawful.

The Giant was much smaller than the 9ft-tall Emperor, but the 19 points on its antlers – five more than his – made it a potentially even more impressive for the title of Britain's largest animal.