SLINGSHOT SAVAGES
VICIOUS yobs are using powerful catapults to kill and maim animals in a sick new hunting craze sweeping the internet.
Groups have sprung up on social media with hunters trying to out-do each other as they target rabbits, pigeons and squirrels with slingshots.
One group on YouTube claimed they had permission to help a farmer clear his land of rabbits.
Holding up the body of a bloodied bunny, “Gamekeeper John” boasts: “It broke the top of the head!”
He says: “We’ve got the catapult, we’ve got the camera, we are going to see what we can do.
“Hopefully we’ll get a rabbit or two. Big rabbits, smaller rabbits, whatever they are, they are all going tonight.”
He adds that the hunters started EMILY HALL off with three near misses, but hit the fourth rabbit in the head.
“It scurried off into the undergrowth. We couldn’t find it again, but I believe it was out for the count,” he says.
The video shows the bodies of the rabbits flying into the air as the shots hit them.
Other gory pictures come from an Instagram poster OliverJBrown, who grins as he holds a pigeon with its head blasted off.
The caption reads: “Can’t beat a bit of fresh pigeon.”
Some hunters take their children with them on the grisly hunts.
There is also a Facebook group – Catapult Addicts Community – which features dozens more snaps of dead wild animals.
Its description reads: “Catapult Addicts was founded by two friends in 2015 who have a dream of beginning a global alliance in the sport, a place where fellow addicts can share information and news.”
It’s thought the hobby has grown in popularity because no licence is needed to own a catapult and the weapons can be carried legally.
Elisa Allen from the animal rights campaign group Peta UK said the weapons could lead to slow and painful deaths.
She added: “Any person who takes enjoyment from or laughs while hurting and killing animals should worry everyone, because there’s clearly an empathy chip missing.
“With their limited accuracy, catapults and slingshots often leave victims to experience slow and painful deaths.
“If the victims had been cats or dogs, the person would be charged with cruelty to animals. It shouldn’t be any different for rabbits.”