Warning after third cat is shot in Bolton

[Cheesecat]

And in Grant Street, Farnworth, a cat lost an eye after being shot in the head.

Carol Jean, from the Bolton and Radcliffe Cat Protection unit which funded Bobby's operation, said: "It's disgusting. Three shootings in one week is a very extreme incident."

To be honest it doesnt surprise me - whenever we drive through there it seems to be populated by the scum of the earth 

I HATE pellet guns. I got shot in the neck by one (didnt go through the skin but I had a horrid bruise that really hurt!)   

[CurlyCatz]

I agree, you should have to pass some sort of test akin to the car test even for an air rifle.

I'd like to think my other half is fairly competant with using something like his air rifle , its a powerful one but has sights so not just a pot luck shot and also its low powered compared to what he was used to i suppose.

[littleKitten_(alex)]

Although I agree that laws controlling guns (or indeed any form of dangerous weapon) need to be tighter, I wonder if an outright ban would completely stop the problem. Sadly, I think there will always be ways for sick people to maim or kill animals (and even people!). Some years ago, a sicko slashed a few of my father's cattle, for no reason, presumably with a knife. But of course it's not possible to ban all knives...

Sorry guys, I'm not really going anywhere with this... just trying to vent a bit, I suppose... Stories like these make me so sad, and angry, and disillusioned about people. Well, some people. 

Gun laws need to be tightened in the UK, though. Lots of people in my OH's family own shotguns of various types, mainly used for bird shoots and the like. I was astonished when I realised that not one of them had had to do any kind of training to get their gun licences, basically just needed someone as a reference. In my native Sweden, in order to own any "proper" gun (apart from air guns and the like that I think are still unlicenced to adults), you have to do a lengthy, very thorough hunter's course, and then pass a couple of written exams and 3 practical shooting tests. THEN you may apply to the police for a gun licence, but you're still not guaranteed to get one. It's more difficult to get a gun licence than a driving licence, which is fair enough, I think!

Wouldn't you just like to round up the people who do stuff like this, and turn the tables... Shoot the  out of them!  Who's with me?

[JackSpratt]

My partner has a BB gun, but some people that have these things would never DREAM of using them to harm an animal. It's not the laws that need changing, it's the levels of parenting.

[CurlyCatz]

yep defo put some responsibility onto sellers.  My hubby bought his from a shop online so really thats pretty accessable but the licence and passports etc should have to be proven first.

Gill i think using them in towns is far too dangerous..my husband obviously bought his as a form of pest control and it is used in the garden..directly behind my garden is a field when sheep are up my end he would not use it.  However i do not think if we lived in a town it would be acceptable to use it where gardens back onto each other normally.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think that lynn is right but also the licence should only allow them to be used in restricted areas for certain things, so that if someone was shooting at pets, people or private propety to harm or damage, this would be illegal.

[Mark]

I agree Lynn. with an automatic £1,000 for possesion without a licence, doubling for any consquent offences. That should weed out a lot of the idiots. Also the people that SELL the guns should have responsibilty. Anyone selling to someone without a licence gets a huge fine and the right to sell taken away.

[CurlyCatz]

I dont know if banning them is the way to go but why not have higher age restrictions and the same protocol for obtaining a license the same as you do for a proper gun.
my husband has an air rifle and we would not object to him having had to get a licence first as he is a responsible owner who treats it with care and respect..its a dangerous weapon.

[Catjane]

This is worrying - it seems to be the latest craze.

A student (a post-graduate, no less - supposedly intelligent) was recently arrested for shooting BB's from his apartment window at smokers standing outside my place of work.  A couple of people were hurt, too.  It incenses me that it is considered to be less serious if it is an animal involved. 

[lilycat]

I agree they should be banned, they serve no purpose other that to inflict injury whether it be on human or animal. 

[Sabrina (Auferstehen)]

BB gun shoots small round metal balls.

Pretty much the same as a pellet gun.

I owned a dart gun (it had a board to shoot at) as a teenager but you could also put bb's in it.

Never shot at an animal, or outside. I was always terrified that I'd miss and hit one of my pets or a window.

[CurlyCatz]

i really think parents need to wake up and NOT allow their kids to have these types of weapons.

(whats a bb gun ?)

[Mark]

Not only do air guns need to be banned, also BB guns. Our local £1 shop sells the "bullets" so any idiot can buy them - they should all be covered by the dangerous weapons act. Anyone who shoots a cat should have a bullet put in their head 

[Tan]

Warning after third cat is shot - Bolton

A CAT is recovering from surgery today after being hit in the leg by a pellet from an airgun - the third cat to be shot in two weeks.
The two-year-old stray, which has been taken in by animal lover Susan Stone needed an operation to remove the a pellet.

Today, RSPCA chiefs in Bolton urged cat owners to be on their guard and called for a change in the law.
RSPCA inspector Kathy Kay said: "I've been campaigning for 30 years to have the laws on airguns changed, because as things stands it is totally inadequate.
"What the people responsible for these shootings consider to be good fun is callous and brings such heartbreak and sufffering, The only way to stop the shootings is to ban the guns.
"Cat owners must keep a watch on their pets and seek advice if they think they might have been targeted."

Black and white tom cat, Bobby, has been fed by cat lover Miss Stone for the last few months. She noticed he was limping when she saw him earlier this week.
Miss Stone, who has five cats herself, took him to A Regan and Colleagues vets, in Bury Road, Bolton. An operation revealed a pellet was embedded in his leg.
Miss Stone, aged 47, of Thorns Close, Astley Bridge, said: "It's awful to think that somebody is purposely targeting cats. I'm very concerned because I don't want mine to be sitting targets."

Daniel Picazo, the vet who removed the pellet, said: "The pellet had hit the heel, got squashed with the strength of the bone and the body reacted. I removed the pellet, so hopefully the body will heal."
Last week a cat died after being shot and suffering a ruptured bladder in Kearsley. And in Grant Street, Farnworth, a cat lost an eye after being shot in the head.

Carol Jean, from the Bolton and Radcliffe Cat Protection unit which funded Bobby's operation, said: "It's disgusting. Three shootings in one week is a very extreme incident."