Animal airgun attacks rise

IT is a depressing fact that every year hundreds of victims of airgun attacks are reported to the RSPCA.

While wild animals are often victims, the most targeted animal is domestic cats that often suffer fatal or life-changing injuries.

We receive hundreds of calls from devastated cat owners every year after they discover their beloved pets have been shot.

Often it isn’t until the X-rays reveal the pellets still lodged in the animal’s body that it becomes clear what they have been subjected to. It often leaves the victim with life-changing injuries, such as the lost of an eye, or even requiring the amputation of a limb. In some tragic instances, the injuries even prove fatal.

It is difficult to understand how anyone could carry out these mindless attacks on innocent animals and we are backing calls for stricter regulations around owning an airgun.

This, along with better education and explanation of the law when buying an airgun, and requirements that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop could help relieve the problem.

July and August, when the days are longer and people are out and about more, are typically some of the busiest months for RSPCA inspectors investigating incidents of animals shot by people using airguns.

Behind these statistics there are hundreds of animals that have been subjected to horrible amounts of pain and suffering