Airgun petition delivered to parliament
Around 164 cats in the UK were shot with an airgun in 2017.
Cats Protection has delivered a petition to Number 10 Downing Street calling for a change to airgun laws.
The petition, which had 100,000 signatures, was delivered to Prime Minister Theresa May On Wednesday, 9 May. Together with more than 50,000 supporters, the charity has also written to the Home Office calling for airgun licensing as part of government review.
Cats Protection’s head of advocacy Jacqui Cuff said current laws in England and Wales did not go far enough to stop airguns falling into the wrong hands.
“We know that 90 per cent of reported airgun attacks on cats happen in England and Wales, and it’s no coincidence that these are the parts of the country where licencing of airguns isnot in place,” she explained. “Laws on airguns in Scotland and Northern Ireland are much tighter, and we believe this should apply for the whole of the UK.”
According to media reports, around 164 cats in the UK were shot with an airgun in 2017. Many of these cats suffered horrific and often fatal injuries as a result of such attacks.
Ms Cuff added: “In the wrong hands, airguns are deadly weapons, and updating the laws relating to them is well overdue in England and Wales. Our petition of 100,000 people shows that a huge number of people agree that action must be taken urgently.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
