Teenagers prohibited from using air guns
Rural groups say under-18s will miss out on shooting skills under requirement for adult to be present
Under-18s are to be banned from using air guns without adult supervision, prompting fears they could miss out on vital shooting skills needed to control vermin. Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, also plans to make it illegal to fail to lock up an air weapon and its ammunition separately when it is not in use and in a house where there are under-18s. However, he stopped short of introducing a licensing system for air guns after a backlash against the move by rural groups.
TEENAGERS under 18 are to be banned from using air guns without adult supervision, prompting fears in rural areas they could miss out on vital shooting skills needed to control vermin.
Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, announced the plans to scrap the exemption that allows children aged 14 to 18 to use the weapons on private land or premises without being supervised.
He also proposed a new offence which would make it illegal to fail to lock up an air weapon and its ammunition separately when it is not in use and in a house where there are under-18s.
However, he stopped short of introducing a licensing system for air guns that would have put them on a par with other firearms, after a backlash against the move by rural groups and more than 1,600 people who use the weapons.
Bill Harriman, director for firearms at British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), welcomed the decision not to license air guns.
But he said it was important the regulations were evidence-led so “the views of the legitimate shooting community are recognised”.
The BASC was among seven national bodies that opposed any further regulation, arguing it could limit the ability to teach young people how to safely use guns, and restrict the capability of farmers and landowners to control vermin.
“Pest control is where air guns are extremely important. They can be used in areas where other guns cannot and are incredibly accurate and silent,” said a BASC spokesman.
Home Office documents show nearly all the 1,600 shooters who responded to the consultation “opposed any tightening of the regulations governing air weapons,” arguing for education and tougher enforcement of the current law. It put them at odds with animal welfare charities, who reported a high number of air weapon attacks on pets, particularly cats, and other animals and called for a licensing regime.
The Home Office review of the law followed the death of Ben Wragge, 13, who was killed in 2016 by an air rifle accidentally discharged by his friend.
Mr Malthouse said: “Our gun laws are among the toughest in the world – we are determined to ensure they stay this way to keep the public safe.
“These measures will tighten controls on air weapons and minimise the risk of tragic accidents.”
The proposed changes were backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council although l figures show air weapon offences have fallen by 50 per cent in a decade to 3,028 in 2018-19. There were two fatal injuries, 27 serious injuries, and 233 minor injuries in offences involving air weapons in the year to March 2019, half of what it was a decade ago.