but using them in a public place without proper planning or informing local residents and the police of the times that they will be shooting? Sounds wrong to me.
Hi Pete
The use of a firearm by an authorised person, does not require the permission of the police each time shooting takes place. If it did, the police would be unable to cope with the paperwork! Several members of my own family for example shoot on a daily basis. To expect the police to monitor all that activity would be a hugely expensive exercise. Instead of monitoring every shooting activity that takes place, the law sets down stringent standards for the type of person that can be issued with certificates for the use of firearms and shotguns.
Everyone authorised to use a rifle such as that used to control foxes, is issued with a firearms certificate. In all cases this certificate will specify a piece of land where that firearm can be used. In addition, long standing and very experienced certificate holders may be issued an ‘open’ certificate which means that they can use their rifle on any piece of land where it is safe to do so, and where the landowner has granted permission.
Although there is no obligation to inform the police each time shooting takes place, in urban areas it is often a good idea to do this in order to avoid the ‘armed response’ scenario.
Informing members of the public is a very different matter and not an approach that would be recommended by the police. The result would simply be an outcry by all those that cannot bear the thought for example, of a fox being shot, no matter how many chickens are going missing. It is not possible to carry out pest control with a rifle, if the local community are staging a ‘sit in’ around the very chickens you are trying to protect!
I was walking the woods that I often go to and heard gun shots. What am I supposed to do? Leave the woods in case one of us gets hurt? Call the police because I have no idea who is shooting what (or who)?
Shooting takes place throughout the year in much of the British countryside. In my part of Hampshire it is entirely normal to hear shots fired from time to time. It is virtually unheard of for members of the public to be shot by those participating in legal shooting activities. Our safety record in the UK is second to none, and there are strict codes of practice governing shooting with regard to where and when a shot may be taken.
The legitimate shooting community, in response to the activities of ‘antis’ has in recent years become extremely discrete in going about their perfectly legal activities. Rifles and shotguns are usually sleeved and put away if members of the public approach, in order to avoid distressing them. When in the past we would simply have walked past, with the gun over an arm, and said good morning politely.
Unfortunately one of the effects of all this discretion is to make the public less aware of the shooting that takes place around them, and more alarmed when they come across someone shooting legally. I also think that all this secrecy makes it harder for members of the public to determine whether or not someone is shooting lawfully.
Whilst a disaster like that which took place in the Lake District recently is very frightening for the general public, it is worth remembering that almost all gun crime in the UK is committed by those holding firearms illegally, and in urban areas. It is also worth pointing out that the shooting community in the UK is one of the most law abiding, and mentally healthy group of individuals in the country, such are the rules governing the holding of certificates, and it is standard procedure to remove guns from anyone suffering from mental health problems or convicted of criminal offences. You are likely to be very safe indeed, in the presence of a person who has a firearm certificate.
I like guns and would own guns for pleasure if the laws weren't so ridiculous (restricting them completely rather than appropriate controls)
Actully, I don’t think our laws are ridiculous. The police vet anyone who wants a firearm certificate and review that certificate every five years in case that person’s circumstances have changed. They come to your home, interview you, and speak with your GP to make sure you are not mentally ill or depressed. They make sure that you have a genuine purpose for gun ownership, and that your guns are securely stored. And they take them away if you break the law.
If only such care were taken when issuing driving licences.
If you have good reason to believe that someone is shooting illegally in the countryside, then it makes sense to phone the landowner to check that they have given permission. If they have not done so, then it makes sense for you or them to phone the police.
If the shooting is taking place in an urban setting, that is a different matter, and you should definitely inform the police. If the activity is legitimate they are likely to have already been informed in advance
I hope that helps
Pippa
